Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,871 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 20,444 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,561,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in American Express by 25.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 499,340 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $74,584,000 after purchasing an additional 99,813 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its holdings in American Express by 7.6% during the second quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 1,785,141 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $310,971,000 after purchasing an additional 125,990 shares during the period. GYL Financial Synergies LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,579,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,856,000 after buying an additional 102,132 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $210.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.