Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,590 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 568 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.5% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the third 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $312.75 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $299.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.98. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $315.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.