G&S Capital LLC Acquires 64 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

G&S Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,247 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 1.4% of G&S Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. G&S Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during 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, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $306.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $207.61 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $306.67 and its 200-day moving average is $281.42. The company has a market cap of $215.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.