American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Decreased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 197,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,610 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $58,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Auxier Asset Management grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % 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 corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $325.12 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $185.73 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

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.