Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 36,497 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2,693.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,497 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $12.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,232,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,088,052. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $219.68 and its 200 day moving average is $187.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

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.