American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Trimmed by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,664 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 102.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its position in American Express by 2,196.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in American Express by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $267.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.39. American Express has a 52-week low of $141.02 and a 52-week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.