Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 3,300 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 167,622 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.8% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $45,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.1% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 247.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 8,694 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 6,194 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 4,944 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 4,526 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $286.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average of $251.34. American Express has a 52 week low of $157.97 and a 52 week high of $296.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.