Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 496 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased 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 during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $288.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.