Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $3.64 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,407 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,823 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AXP opened at $303.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $167.57 and a one year high of $307.82. The company has a market cap of $214.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express 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.