Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,826 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 636.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after purchasing an additional 382,272 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $2.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $237.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,327,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,198,073. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.53.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was 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 $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

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.