L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $890,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American Express by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,943 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $733,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Gradient Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research boosted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $306.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.80. The stock has a market cap of $218.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 12 month low of $207.61 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

About American Express

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.