American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,369 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $218.40 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $158.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.37.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Company 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.