Cacti Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cacti Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 413,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 14,735 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 9.5% of Cacti Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cacti Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $122,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in shares of American Express by 159.0% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 93,479 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $21,645,000 after acquiring an additional 57,392 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth $6,845,000. Finally, Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $2.77 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $299.56. 453,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,842,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $307.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $292.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $263.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.