Silicon Valley Capital Partners Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Silicon Valley Capital Partners lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,081 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.3% of Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $11,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research increased their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $316.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $223.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $207.61 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.03.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last three months. 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.