Fayez Sarofim & Co Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fayez Sarofim & Co cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,717 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,038 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in American Express were worth $66,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AXP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $2.53 on Friday, hitting $264.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,939,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,848,441. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $268.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 1.24%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.