5,359 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Acquired by NBZ Investment Advisors LLC

NBZ Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,359 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,000. American Express comprises approximately 0.9% of NBZ Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 1.4 %

American Express stock opened at $272.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.03. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.