Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $12.37 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted 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 worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $295.02 and a 200-day moving average of $289.13. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. 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. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.