Tang Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tang Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 279.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,799 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,798 shares during the quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $832,000. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $7,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $10.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $285.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,444,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,851,846. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $267.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $200.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.