North Star Asset Management Inc. Makes New $232,000 Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,236 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Boston Partners purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 636.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $65,988,000 after acquiring an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.24.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 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 Trading Up 0.8 %

American Express stock opened at $232.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $168.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $220.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.56. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $235.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

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.