Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,525 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in American Express by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

AXP traded down $0.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $299.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,955,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,834,151. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $264.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Compass Point decreased their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

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.