Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,670 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $270.80 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $298.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $190.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.