American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Boosted by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,052,115 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 126,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.43% of American Express worth $905,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dnca Finance purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,525,000. Ecofi Investissements SA raised its holdings in American Express by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Ecofi Investissements SA now owns 2,700 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of American Express by 4.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Holcombe Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $3,787,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other 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 value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased 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. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $6.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $266.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,613,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,224,385. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

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.