Keel Point LLC Acquires Shares of 1,106 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Keel Point LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after acquiring an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $911,554,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of American Express by 162.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,885,000 after buying an additional 1,214,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $217.62 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $219.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.58. The stock has a market cap of $157.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.