Bfsg LLC Has $3.96 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bfsg LLC increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,124 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Fountainhead AM LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Millington Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $511,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $754,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in American Express by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 33,469 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,270,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $235.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 850,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,166,155. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $221.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a market capitalization of $169.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.