Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Buys 2,208 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 127,555 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 3.7% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $23,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,927 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in American Express by 148.1% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 40,808 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,106,000 after purchasing an additional 24,360 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 20,908 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 128.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 21,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 11,928 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $238.03. 1,946,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,177,644. The company has a market capitalization of $171.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $222.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.02.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

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.