Jacobs & Co. CA Purchases 1,944 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,808 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

American Express Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The company has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $210.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last 90 days. 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.