Shell Asset Management Co. Buys 4,488 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,715 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 4,488 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $7,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $299.10. 2,751,297 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,842,469. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.25. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.