RNC Capital Management LLC Has $1.48 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

RNC Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,924 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $911,554,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of American Express by 162.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $289,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,325,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $210.92 and a 200-day moving average of $180.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.98%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.00.

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.