First Eagle Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,352,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 245,835 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.6% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $698,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $256.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company has a market cap of $180.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.