SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $249,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 813 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $299.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.82. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $209.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

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.