OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,771 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First Foundation Advisors lifted its holdings in American Express by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 3,261 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $272,000. Hutner Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,777 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,186,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in American Express by 415.0% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,317 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,488,000 after purchasing an additional 12,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in American Express by 823.5% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 628 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $286.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $157.97 and a 52-week high of $296.83.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.