Blueshift Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 52.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,096 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AXP shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

American Express stock opened at $270.48 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.31. The company has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.