OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,740 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,120 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $6,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $292,081,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 538.7% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $102,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AXP traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $264.79. 1,939,224 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,848,444. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

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.