Inkwell Capital LLC Buys Shares of 6,851 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Inkwell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,851 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,033,000. American Express comprises 2.2% of Inkwell Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after buying an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,151,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $3.77 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $269.25. 3,944,404 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,763,956. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.68. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $189.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted 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%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.