Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $43.71 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 147,289 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $43,714,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.2 %

AXP stock traded up $8.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $277.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,099,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,825,974. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.59 and a 200 day moving average of $286.95. 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 market capitalization of $194.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.