Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 22,345 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,847 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 22,345 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $74,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auxier Asset Management boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third 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. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $318.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $184.06 and a 1 year high of $319.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $299.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.78.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.