Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 283 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,642 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $218.40 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $219.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.37. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is 24.98%.

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.