DRW Securities LLC Acquires 2,878 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

DRW Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 203.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,290 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,878 shares during the quarter. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,436 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 3,348 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $243,000. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 538.7% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $102,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in American Express by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 29,872 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $8,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $3.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $259.31. 1,368,487 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,877,886. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $277.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a one year low of $216.51 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two 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 MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.