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

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management raised 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $294.09 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $206.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $307.39 and a 200-day moving average of $285.99.

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, 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%. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. 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.