Forsta AP Fonden Sells 1,400 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in American Express were worth $49,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price objective 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. HSBC lifted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

AXP stock opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. American Express has a twelve month low of $199.07 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $276.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.