Davis Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Davis Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.0% of Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 248,695 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $73,810,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in shares of American Express by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in American Express by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,402 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $4.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $297.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,113,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,208,373. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. 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 1-year low of $177.81 and a 1-year high of $307.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $296.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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. 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Compass Point boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $277.82.

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.