Bfsg LLC Sells 830 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bfsg LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,029 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 830 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE AXP traded down $8.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $295.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,277,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,481,628. American Express has a 52 week low of $212.48 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $307.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $284.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.