Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Buys Shares of 700 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 700 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 13,544 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 29,888 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 988 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $727,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $300.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $307.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point dropped their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express 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.