Thomasville National Bank Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Thomasville National Bank reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,365 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,081 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 2.3% of Thomasville National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,865 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $32,607,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of American Express by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 81,953 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $24,323,000 after buying an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 13,438 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,988,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 120,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $35,812,000 after buying an additional 6,255 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $277.82.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $294.57. 561,989 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,988,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $296.88 and its 200 day moving average is $269.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.