Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,458 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,277 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 1.1% of Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in American Express were worth $27,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $292,081,000. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in American Express by 538.7% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $102,003,000 after acquiring an additional 300,168 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $450,429,000 after acquiring an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $294.90.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $251.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,906,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,890,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $274.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.71. American Express has a 12-month low of $217.18 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is currently 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.