2,145 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Bought by Clarendon Private LLC

Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,145 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Auxier Asset Management grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd 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. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC raised their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.00.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $320.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $186.43 and a 1 year 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 earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.