American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,926 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.8% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after acquiring an additional 906,353 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.50.

American Express Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $316.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.17. The company has a market cap of $222.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12-month low of $199.07 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.