BluePointe Capital Management LLC Invests $245,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BluePointe Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 825 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $212,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 12.0% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 1,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,425,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $270.66 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $190.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.35. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

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.