Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 12,392 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their target price 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, Compass Point cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

American Express stock opened at $294.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $307.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.