American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,239 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

AXP traded down $0.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $226.83. The company had a trading volume of 301,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,126,237. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.31. The company has a market cap of $164.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $167.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.00.

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.