Highland Capital Management LLC Has $6.65 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its stake in shares of American Express by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 2,277 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,222 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2,102.0% in the 4th quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $210.92 and a 200-day moving average of $180.31. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on American Express from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.00.

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.