Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,943 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $250,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of American Express by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 161,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $43,672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,328 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 408,679 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $110,834,000 after purchasing an additional 5,827 shares during the period. Finally, QV Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 11,430 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

AXP stock opened at $306.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $215.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $207.61 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $306.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point cut their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Insiders own 0.12% 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.