Vise Technologies Inc. Has $4.71 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 41.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,880 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,669 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $8.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $293.81. 1,775,426 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,848,341. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $269.34 and a 200 day moving average of $288.60. The firm has a market cap of $205.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.