Stevens Capital Management LP Invests $529,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,826 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $2.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $237.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,327,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,198,073. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.