National Pension Service Raises Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

National Pension Service increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,022,817 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 20,518 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.14% of American Express worth $191,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $238.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,055,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,155,792. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $171.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

American Express Company Profile

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.