GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 55,814 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,179 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $320.26 on Thursday. American Express has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $305.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $225.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued 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 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.