American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Cut by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,955 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings 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. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

AXP stock traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $230.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,203,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

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.