Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $4.02 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,547 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AXP opened at $270.31 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $293.20 and a 200-day moving average of $289.86.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

Get Our Latest Analysis on AXP

About American Express

(Free Report)

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.

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