HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Increases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,658 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in American Express by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 163,920 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $48,955,000 after purchasing an additional 45,011 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in American Express by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 51,984 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,679,000 after purchasing an additional 24,654 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in American Express by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 118,476 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $35,162,000 after purchasing an additional 56,525 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 26,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 660 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $303.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.