O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 77,290 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,058 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $22,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in American Express by 493.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,382 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $7,408,000. B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,626,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Monday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

About American Express

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.