Northstar Advisory Group LLC Purchases 341 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,689 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Corp MA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its holdings in American Express by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 40,808 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 5,146 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 35,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,646,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $227.06 on Thursday. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on American Express from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.00.

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.