S.A. Mason LLC Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,146 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 118,198.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $911,554,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in American Express by 162.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $289,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $124,325,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.00.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

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.