Sierra Capital LLC Lowers Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sierra Capital LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Sierra Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $364,000. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. GHE LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 786,422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $233,512,000 after acquiring an additional 15,038 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $295.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $307.38 and a 200-day moving average of $285.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $213.25 and a 52 week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

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.