HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,413 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in American Express by 493.9% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,382 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 6,139 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,408,000. B&L Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $1,626,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.68. The firm has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. 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 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.