Fiducient Advisors LLC Sells 1,234 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fiducient Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 54.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,047 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,234 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 49.0% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91,760 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $274.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $143.07 and a 52 week high of $286.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $246.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

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.