Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Takes $244,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,300 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 11,289 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 588,594 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $87,812,000 after purchasing an additional 16,405 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,785 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $224.63 and a 200-day moving average of $194.30. The company has a market cap of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

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.