Evergreen Capital Management LLC Has $2.76 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Evergreen Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in 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 worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.8 %

AXP stock opened at $253.30 on Thursday. American Express has a 1-year low of $216.52 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $177.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $275.21 and its 200 day moving average is $287.85.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.81.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.