Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,665,409 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 230,505 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,350,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its position in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $48,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % 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.

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $301.30 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.35. American Express has a 12-month low of $163.32 and a 12-month high of $301.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $212.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company 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 firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express 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.