Community Financial Services Group LLC Sells 53 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Community Financial Services Group LLC lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,457 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.4% of Community Financial Services Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after buying an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $306.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.80. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $207.61 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

About American Express

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.