Bokf Na Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bokf Na grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,179 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $275.68 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

American Express Company 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.