American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Lowered by Narwhal Capital Management

Narwhal Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,567 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,464 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 1.3% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. M3 Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $637,000. Park Edge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,876 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.00.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $320.87 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $302.35 and a 200-day moving average of $274.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $186.43 and a 1 year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.