Intellectus Partners LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,396 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

AXP stock traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $222.57 and a 200-day moving average of $191.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.