International Assets Investment Management LLC Has $10.27 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,935 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its position in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 29,543 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,535,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,501,000. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 318,263 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $59,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

American Express stock opened at $230.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The company has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.