American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Cut by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 445,638 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,782 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in American Express were worth $132,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third 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 during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $300.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $307.44 and its 200-day moving average is $286.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.