American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,465,321 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,810 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in American Express were worth $435,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in American Express by 10.6% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 6,776 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 148,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $40,363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 534,851 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $145,052,000 after acquiring an additional 63,662 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in American Express by 493.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,382 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AXP. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $295.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.43. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.