Capital Advisors Inc. OK Buys Shares of 1,372 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,372 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $218.20 on Monday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

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.