HM Payson & Co. Purchases 3,182 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,496 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,182 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $25,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 4.4 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $11.94 on Monday, reaching $261.27. 3,249,429 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,601,919. 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 company has a market capitalization of $183.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $305.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.17.

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American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase 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 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express 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.