American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,588 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,710 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.5% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $55,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $283.05 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.61. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $198.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research increased their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.