Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Buys 610 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 72.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,450 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in American Express were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after purchasing an additional 13,720,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $911,554,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in American Express by 162.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,325,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $219.22. 259,847 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,025,138. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $219.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.58. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $231.69.

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 return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

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.