Prudential PLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,001 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 12,436 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in American Express were worth $25,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
American Express Trading Up 0.1 %
AXP stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $233.85. 6,281,110 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,835,415. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $288.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.63. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The firm 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. BTIG Research increased their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.24.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on American Express
American Express Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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