American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,259 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after acquiring an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $325.12 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $185.73 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $300.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

American Express 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.