WBI Investments LLC Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

WBI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $299.48 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $209.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $266.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $295.05.

About American Express

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.