Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Has $2.43 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,174 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in American Express by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $250,000. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in American Express by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of American Express by 653.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 39,835 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,803,000 after acquiring an additional 34,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.7% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52-week low of $207.61 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.11% 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.