Polymer Capital Management US LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,353 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $292,081,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $450,429,000 after buying an additional 273,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.81.

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American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $4.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $251.46. 4,412,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,881,151. American Express has a 1-year low of $216.12 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $279.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm'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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.