American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,189 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.0% of Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,847,452,000 after purchasing an additional 35,760 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in American Express by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,037,387,000 after acquiring an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $911,554,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,802,341 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $857,293,000 after purchasing an additional 405,975 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $13.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.04. 7,553,246 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,134,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $219.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.79. The company has a market cap of $167.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.98%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

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.