Condor Capital Management Sells 376 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Condor Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 376 shares during the quarter. Condor Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in American Express by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 328,870 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $97,605,000 after purchasing an additional 54,348 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 99,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,562,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in American Express by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,616 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after acquiring an additional 6,792 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE AXP opened at $270.66 on Thursday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.35.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.