American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,926 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 1.8% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after acquiring an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $316.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $222.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.17. American Express has a twelve month low of $199.07 and a twelve month high of $326.27.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.50.

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.