American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Lifted by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,891 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express 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 value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express 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 directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $8.52 on Friday, hitting $226.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,954,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,056,516. The company has a market capitalization of $163.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $219.68 and its 200-day moving average is $187.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. 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.