Silvant Capital Management LLC Has $6.34 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Silvant Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,379 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 3.5% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’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 directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $272.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $266.02 and its 200 day moving average is $247.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $286.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

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.