Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 737 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 10,005 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 1,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 47,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $14,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $295.02 and a 200-day moving average of $289.13. The company has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

American Express Company 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.