Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Has $311,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,048 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auxier Asset Management boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $317.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $223.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $199.88 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.84.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.