American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors grew its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,977 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned approximately 0.53% of American Express worth $1,099,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in American Express by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,052,115 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $905,864,000 after purchasing an additional 126,030 shares during the last quarter. Dnca Finance purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,525,000. Ecofi Investissements SA raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Ecofi Investissements SA now owns 2,700 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of American Express by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,138,144 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $337,790,000 after buying an additional 45,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holcombe Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE AXP traded up $7.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $260.25. 3,871,549 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,859,005. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $270.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.37. The firm has a market cap of $182.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

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.