Jackson Square Capital LLC Takes $2.61 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,781 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,606,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.4 %

AXP stock traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $312.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,180,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,091. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $177.81 and a fifty-two week high of $315.40. The company has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.98.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Compass Point increased their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.