Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 12,299 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,371 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 12,299 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.6% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in American Express were worth $23,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $7.97 on Friday, reaching $294.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 846,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,561. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $307.82. The company has a market cap of $207.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.64.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.