Hi Line Capital Management LLC Sells 2,630 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hi Line Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,887 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,630 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 2.4% of Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $835,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in American Express by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 100,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $295.23 on Monday. American Express has a twelve month low of $212.48 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $307.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.04. The company has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.