American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Increased by Red Cedar Investment Management LLC

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,628 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $311.37 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $306.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.60. American Express has a 52 week low of $209.10 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.