American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,484,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

American Express stock opened at $269.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.78. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $189.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 owns 23,866 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.20% 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.