OFI Invest Asset Management Buys New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 67,035 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $19,213,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $11.94 on Monday, hitting $261.27. 4,261,633 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,632,049. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $305.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.