American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Raised by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,057 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 75.7% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,239,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,547 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,021,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

AXP stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.28. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.24.

American Express Company 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.