Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,989 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,054 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in American Express were worth $12,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

American Express stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $265.84. 1,127,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,212,130. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $268.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.14. The company has a market capitalization of $186.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Compass Point reduced their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.