Intrinsic Value Partners LLC Cuts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Intrinsic Value Partners LLC decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,719 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 395 shares during the period. American Express comprises 3.2% of Intrinsic Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $311.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1 year low of $209.10 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.