King Luther Capital Management Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 623,816 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 39,975 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.09% of American Express worth $185,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,157,000. Claris Advisors LLC MO raised its position in shares of American Express by 113.1% in the fourth quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,218 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of American Express by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 40,323 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $11,968,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,296 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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American Express Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $5.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $255.38. 4,924,551 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,682,411. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $303.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised 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, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.