American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 623,816 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 39,975 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $185,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $261.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $304.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.26. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.