Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,261 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,576 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $36,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after purchasing an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 382,272 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 417.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $230.64. 3,203,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,211,802. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.31 and a 200 day moving average of $193.76. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Company insiders own 0.12% 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.