Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Has $48.05 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 161,912 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 5,710 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 0.9% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $48,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.24.

American Express Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.44. The company has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.