Global Trust Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,555 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $318.07 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $184.06 and a 52-week high of $319.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $300.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.36. The stock has a market cap of $224.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is 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.