Insider Buying: American Express (NYSE:AXP) Director Acquires 3,700 Shares of Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.10.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% 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.