American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Clifford Capital Partners LLC

Clifford Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,455 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 24,377 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 2.7% of Clifford Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Clifford Capital Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $13,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $304.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,696,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,894,868. 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 $163.61 and a 1 year high of $307.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.