Excalibur Management Corp Sells 284 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Excalibur Management Corp cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,354 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 0.9% of Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,049 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 6.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 7.9% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in American Express by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,824 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in American Express by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,652 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.