Guardian Capital LP Sells 1,200 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Guardian Capital LP reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,188 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP's holdings in American Express were worth $2,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $8.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $277.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,099,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,827,484. The firm has a market cap of $194.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $264.59 and a 200-day moving average of $286.92.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.