Pointe Capital Management LLC Invests $207,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pointe Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 699 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.8% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $293.12 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $213.25 and a 1 year high of $326.27. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.86. The company has a market capitalization of $205.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.