Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in American Express Company by 585.1% in the first quarter, owning 19,415 shares valued at approximately $5.22 million.
• A significant number of hedge funds, including Northern Trust Corp and DZ BANK AG, have also notably increased their stakes in American Express during the fourth quarter.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, surpassing the expected $3.86, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share to be paid to shareholders.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 585.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,415 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,581 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in American Express were worth $5,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,099,391,000 after buying an additional 74,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,052,115 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $905,864,000 after buying an additional 126,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $2.47 on Tuesday, reaching $296.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 267,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,956,183. The stock's 50-day moving average is $306.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.