Townsend & Associates Inc Decreases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Townsend & Associates Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,724 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 692 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $372,000. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $1,198,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 3,326 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 50,093 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,867,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $5,369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE AXP opened at $295.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $307.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a twelve month low of $212.48 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.