Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $267.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $187.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.14. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale 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.