Ingalls & Snyder LLC Has $1.61 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock remained flat at $218.20 during midday trading on Friday. 2,441,341 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,370,278. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.