Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Has $667,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lowered its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,247 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in American Express by 105.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $214,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 7.7% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth about $330,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.72. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.07 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. Citigroup upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Company 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.