Seizert Capital Partners LLC Sells 3,588 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,883 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,588 shares during the quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. XML Financial LLC grew its stake in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,318 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,368,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $286.87 on Friday. American Express has a 52-week low of $157.97 and a 52-week high of $296.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

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.