Longboard Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 860 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000. American Express comprises approximately 0.7% of Longboard Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $316.43 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $304.98 and a 200-day moving average of $277.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $203.42 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.