Blue Fin Capital Inc. Buys 260 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Blue Fin Capital Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,833 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 260 shares during the quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 75,302 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $11,234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,507 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.0% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 140,954 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $21,029,000 after acquiring an additional 8,009 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 614,383 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $91,660,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 180,564 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $26,938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in American Express by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 30,789 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

American Express stock traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $230.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,203,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $165.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.30. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.