Lewis Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lewis Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.95.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $315.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $222.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $303.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.27. American Express has a 52 week low of $199.88 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently 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.