American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Decreased by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,912 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 5,710 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 0.9% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $48,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

NYSE AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.