Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 990 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $212,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.0% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 1,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $14,425,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 32.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

American Express Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $270.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $190.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $299.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.35.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.