Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Purchases 4,700 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 230,212 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in American Express were worth $68,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $295.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $307.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.93.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.