Capital International Inc. CA Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capital International Inc. CA lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,503 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,279 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in American Express were worth $5,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $7.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $267.44. 2,695,856 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,858,357. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $269.48 and its 200-day moving average is $287.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. 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 dividend yield of 1.23%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Compass Point reduced their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.