American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,623 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,913 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.5% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. InvesTrust purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,249,000. Sterneck Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $361,000. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 3,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $302.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $213.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $177.81 and a 1-year high of $307.82. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $296.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point upped their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.64.

American Express 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.