American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,519 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,237 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 4.8% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $35,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in American Express by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in American Express by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,055 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 3,134 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $301.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.