Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $160.75 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 541,613 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 141,625 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of American Express worth $160,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management grew its holdings in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $295.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $307.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $213.25 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.