American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Trimmed by Insight Wealth Strategies LLC

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,759 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 877 shares during the quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, 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 have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.95.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $301.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,806,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,883,564. The firm has a market cap of $212.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $177.81 and a 1-year high of $307.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $293.99 and a 200 day moving average of $267.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.