Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625,695 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,141 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.09% of American Express worth $185,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $1,296,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,031 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 293.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,428 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $8,523,000 after buying an additional 23,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $2.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $264.79. 1,939,224 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,846,523. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $267.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.11. The company has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 yield of 1.24%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

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.