Peak Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Peak Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.7% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auxier Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $305.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.60. The company has a market cap of $215.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 1 year low of $177.81 and a 1 year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.