Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $2.15 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 977 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,903 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in American Express by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $303.18 and its 200-day moving average is $288.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.