St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.4% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd 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. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.9 %

AXP stock opened at $325.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $185.73 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

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.