ZEGA Investments LLC Invests $298,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 928 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

AXP opened at $270.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

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.