Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC Invests $8.90 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,000 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $8,904,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was 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 Stock Up 0.4 %

AXP stock opened at $278.02 on Tuesday. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $264.23 and its 200 day moving average is $286.97. The firm has a market cap of $194.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. 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.

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