Bank of Hawaii Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bank of Hawaii lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,856 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $262.92 on Thursday. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $281.71 and a 200-day moving average of $288.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, 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, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.24.

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.