S.A. Mason LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

S.A. Mason LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,146 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the second quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 4.1% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.7% during the third quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunburst Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on American Express from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.00.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $210.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.