American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lowered by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,437,167 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 426,534 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 2.0% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,316,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AXP opened at $275.99 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $296.76 and its 200-day moving average is $289.15. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 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.