American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,889 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 20,769 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in American Express were worth $33,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

NYSE AXP opened at $231.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.95. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The stock has a market cap of $167.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.