Scissortail Wealth Management LLC Has $912,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 51.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,539 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 118,198.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after acquiring an additional 13,720,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $911,554,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in American Express by 162.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $289,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,325,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP remained flat at $218.40 on Tuesday. 4,176,339 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,074,129. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The company has a market cap of $158.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $219.13 and its 200 day moving average is $186.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during 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%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

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.