ZEGA Investments LLC Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 928 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at $1,175,000. Cypress Capital Group grew its stake in American Express by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 2,247 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in American Express by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 41,652 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $11,296,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $3.29 on Wednesday, reaching $275.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,578,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,179. The stock's 50-day moving average is $297.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.24. 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 $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

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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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently 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.