NWF Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

NWF Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,222 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,579 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.4% of NWF Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. NWF Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,267,377 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $721,525,000 after purchasing an additional 49,593 shares during the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $1,080,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,598,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $531,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,080 shares in the last quarter. Dempze Nancy E raised its stake in shares of American Express by 210.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 3,459 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 26,189 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,354,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “sell” rating and set a $328.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $353.95.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $363.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.15. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $387.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $368.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.91 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

American Express Company Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.