Bank of Nova Scotia Has $79.97 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 226.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 269,420 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 186,949 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in American Express were worth $79,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.1 %

American Express stock traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $253.86. 903,983 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,176,198. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $216.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a market cap of $178.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $279.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.41.

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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 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%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities 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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.81.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.