Family Office Research LLC Invests $209,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Family Office Research LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 703 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $413,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 304,439 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $90,354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,983 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,712,000 after acquiring an additional 3,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC increased its position in American Express by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $246.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $280.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.37. The company has a market cap of $173.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.