Silver Lake Advisory LLC Trims Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,285 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Services acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $868,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $325.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $229.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $185.73 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.