Infusive Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Infusive Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,761 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,787,000. American Express accounts for about 1.7% of Infusive Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $251.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a one year low of $217.18 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.90.

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.