OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires 4,324 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,463 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,448,000. NDVR Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 86,623 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,709,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in American Express by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $302.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.55. The firm has a market cap of $211.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Citigroup cut their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.