Aigen Investment Management LP Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,643 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 174,598 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $51,818,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in American Express by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 50,085 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $14,865,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 69,073 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $20,500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $5,426,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE AXP traded down $5.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $255.38. The company had a trading volume of 4,924,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,682,268. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27. The company's fifty day moving average is $304.72 and its 200-day moving average is $288.26. The company has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.