Forte Capital LLC ADV Decreases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,789 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.9 %

American Express stock opened at $304.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1-year low of $209.10 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $307.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express 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. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.