Mystic Asset Management Inc. Acquires 1,489 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $292,081,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-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 market capitalization of $185.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.45.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.