Fortune Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fortune Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,615 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in American Express by 3.5% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.0 %

AXP stock opened at $267.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $192.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.57. American Express has a 52 week low of $141.02 and a 52 week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express 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.