Nikko Asset Management Americas held its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock at the end of the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas’ holdings in American Express Company were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gerstein Fisher raised its stake in American Express Company by 2.6% in the third quarter. Gerstein Fisher now owns 8,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Company raised its stake in American Express Company by 15.5% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Company now owns 7,468 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Park National raised its stake in American Express Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Park National now owns 249,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $17,326,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Cacti Asset Management raised its stake in American Express Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Cacti Asset Management now owns 479,947 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $33,380,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express Company during the third quarter worth about $218,000.

Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) traded down 3.01% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $52.88. 18,015,021 shares of the stock were exchanged. American Express Company has a one year low of $52.15 and a one year high of $86.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.09 and a 200 day moving average of $72.98. The stock has a market cap of $51.66 billion and a PE ratio of 10.47.

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 21st. The payment services company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. The company’s revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post $5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 6th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Argus downgraded American Express Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised American Express Company from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Express Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday. RBC Capital reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of American Express Company in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Pacific Crest reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of American Express Company in a research report on Sunday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.78.

In related news, Director Ronald A. Williams acquired 18,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $55.51 per share, with a total value of $1,001,400.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 59,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,028.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas E. Buckminster sold 46,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.85, for a total transaction of $3,376,233.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,299.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

American Express Company is a global services company. The Company’s principal products and services are charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services offered to consumers and businesses around the world. The Company’s segments include U.S. Card Services, International Card Services, Global Commercial Services and Global Network & Merchant Services. The Company’s United States banking subsidiaries, Centurion Bank and AEBFSB, issue a range of Card products and services. It also issues its charge and credit Cards around the world either on its own or as cobrands with partnering institutions. The Company provides expense management and travel services to companies and organizations through its Global Corporate Payments and Global Business Travel businesses. The Global Network & Merchant Services (NYSE:AXP) segment operates a global payments network that processes and settles card transactions.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:AXP

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