Blueprint Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 122.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,860 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $292,081,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.
Read Our Latest Research Report on American Express
American Express Stock Down 0.3 %
American Express stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $275.11. The stock had a trading volume of 329,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,620,715. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $296.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.15. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $193.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.41%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
American Express Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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