Clarendon Private LLC Buys New Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,145 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE AXP traded down $5.00 on Friday, reaching $320.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,256,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,894,205. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 1 year low of $186.43 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.92. The company has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research raised their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $281.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.