CSM Advisors LLC Purchases 455 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CSM Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,825 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of American Express by 538.7% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $102,003,000 after buying an additional 300,168 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $252.69 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.50 and a 200 day moving average of $287.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $177.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, 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 transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value 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 trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.16.

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.