Bill Few Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bill Few Associates Inc. lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,936 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.8% of Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC increased its stake in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its holdings in American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $322.48 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $300.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.70. The company has a market cap of $227.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $184.81 and a 52 week high of $322.82.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

About American Express

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.