KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $61.58 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 207,479 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,578,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $270.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $298.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.