Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Has $1.94 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,537 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $292,081,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $270.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $298.77 and its 200 day moving average is $288.23. The firm has a market cap of $190.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

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.