American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lessened by Raleigh Capital Management Inc.

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,323 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 8,259 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,883 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 101,324 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,072,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction 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 $1,952,286.84. This represents 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $322.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 1 year low of $184.81 and a 1 year high of $322.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.70.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.