Sapient Capital LLC Buys New Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,129 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 118,198.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after purchasing an additional 13,720,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $911,554,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in American Express by 162.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,325,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $218.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $157.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on American Express

American Express Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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