Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Buys 496 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,679,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $442,000. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 85,001 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,227,000 after buying an additional 12,436 shares during the period. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,143,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 612 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

American Express stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.