Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 2,806 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,806 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in American Express by 3.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. 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 during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in American Express by 20.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE AXP opened at $275.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $296.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.15. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.