Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires 880 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 1.2%, now holding 76,147 shares worth approximately $20.49 million.
• American Express recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.06% based on an annualized payout of $3.28.
• Analysts have mixed views on American Express, with 16 hold ratings, 8 buy ratings, and a current average target price of $311.05.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,147 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 880 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $20,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.9% in 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 buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in American Express by 463.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in American Express by 2.1% during the fourth 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. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $5.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $294.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,012,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,476,523. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $305.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.