American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,838 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 105.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in American Express by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 114,408 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $31,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,122 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,404 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,449,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $317.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.34. The company has a market capitalization of $223.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $199.88 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.