GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Sells 582 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,069 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $884,000. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.1% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 247.8% in the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 8,694 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 6,194 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 4,944 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 4,526 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $285.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1 year low of $161.73 and a 1 year high of $296.83. The company has a market cap of $201.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $273.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.72.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.