Waterloo Capital L.P. Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Waterloo Capital L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,904 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $233.50 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % 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.

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.