Borer Denton & Associates Inc. Has $812,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,049 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 6.9% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in American Express by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in American Express by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,824 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in American Express by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,652 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Trading Up 0.5 %

American Express stock opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $297.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $196.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.