Calton & Associates Inc. Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Calton & Associates Inc. decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 748 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point dropped their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $317.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $199.88 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $304.66 and its 200 day moving average is $276.84. The company has a market cap of $223.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

American Express Company 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.