Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,902 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,806 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in American Express were worth $15,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in American Express by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,258,630 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $381,466,000 after purchasing an additional 61,550 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Mendel Money Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm'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 purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $6.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $265.16. 3,260,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,759,231. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. 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 capitalization of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

About American Express

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.