Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,581 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,709 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.1% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $16,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,074,168,000 after buying an additional 33,193 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
American Express Stock Performance
American Express stock traded down $3.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $275.99. 2,578,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,629,267. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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's 50 day moving average is $296.76 and its 200 day moving average is $289.15.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on American Express
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
American Express Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider American Express, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and American Express wasn't on the list.
While American Express currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
If a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know? MarketBeat just compiled its list of the twelve stocks that corporate insiders are abandoning. Complete the form below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
