Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,189 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.0% of Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $911,554,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 162.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,885,000 after buying an additional 1,214,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,325,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $13.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,553,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,134,602. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $231.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $167.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

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.