Clifford Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clifford Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,455 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 24,377 shares during the period. American Express makes up 2.7% of Clifford Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Clifford Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 150.6% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 426 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 62.0% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,218 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,653,000 after acquiring an additional 11,184 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 350.3% during the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 725 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 162.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $305.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $215.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 12 month low of $163.32 and a 12 month high of $306.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $277.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.