American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lifted by Baldwin Investment Management LLC

Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,637 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $277.11 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.95. 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 $194.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.