207,479 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 207,479 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $61,578,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 2,284 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Sfmg LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $363,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,123,961 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $333,580,000 after buying an additional 136,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $3.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,578,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,629,267. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $296.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.15. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.82 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC increased their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.57.

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.