American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Decreased by Callan Capital LLC

Callan Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,465 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Callan Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $372,000. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $1,198,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in American Express by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 3,326 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 50,093 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,867,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $5,369,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AXP. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 2.8 %

AXP stock opened at $295.23 on Friday. American Express has a 52-week low of $212.48 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.