Bearing Point Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 27,223 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $8,080,000. American Express accounts for approximately 1.7% of Bearing Point Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 430.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.35 on Tuesday, hitting $275.68. 3,060,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,827,550. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.89. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid 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 is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

American Express Company 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.