APG Asset Management N.V. Buys 300,168 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 538.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 300,168 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.05% of American Express worth $102,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $4.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $251.46. 4,412,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,881,151. The company has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. 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 fifty-two week low of $216.12 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $279.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.26.

Remove Ads

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.81.

American Express Company 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.