Holowesko Partners Ltd. Sells 1,200 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Holowesko Partners Ltd. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 0.3% of Holowesko Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Holowesko Partners Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $295.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.43. 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 $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

American Express Company 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.