Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,664 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $267.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $192.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12-month low of $141.02 and a 12-month high of $286.36.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

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.