Outfitter Financial LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Outfitter Financial LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,575 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 17.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,930,000 after acquiring an additional 7,990 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $525,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,112,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8,639.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,559 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,660,000 after buying an additional 24,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.9 %

AXP opened at $304.08 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $209.10 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $307.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $213.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly 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, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

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.