American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 610 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $312.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $313.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $297.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.