Financial Security Advisor Inc. Reduces Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,563 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 0.7% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management raised its stake in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $307.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.99. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $206.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.