Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd Invests $208,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 700 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in American Express by 105.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 109,198 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,285,000 after acquiring an additional 25,937 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 12.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $320.87 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.92. The stock has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12 month low of $186.43 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.00.

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.