American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Borer Denton & Associates Inc.

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd 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 and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $297.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.24. The company has a market capitalization of $196.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BTIG Research raised their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.