Kingfisher Capital LLC Sells 1,221 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kingfisher Capital LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,361 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,221 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.5% of Kingfisher Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $453,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $91,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 219.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 164,861 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $37,537,000 after buying an additional 113,249 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $304.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $163.61 and a 52 week high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $279.32 and a 200 day moving average of $254.96.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.