Cambiar Investors LLC Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cambiar Investors LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,177 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 47,607 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $32,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,877 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 5,252 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,730 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,481,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research upped their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $310.13 on Tuesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $207.61 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $306.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $218.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

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.