Fire Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,215 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,735,000. American Express accounts for about 2.0% of Fire Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 44,162 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $13,107,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus downgraded American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $1.34 on Friday, hitting $294.04. 5,251,732 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,856,123. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $270.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.72. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, 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 data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.