Maple Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Maple Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,303 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.6% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $35,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $300.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $307.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.43. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.