Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,149 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $261.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $304.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. 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.