American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Decreased by Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC

Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,347 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 377 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 3.2% of Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $17,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position 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. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $325.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $300.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.70. The stock has a market cap of $229.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. 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 has a one year low of $185.73 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AXP. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by 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.