Provence Wealth Management Group Buys 258 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Provence Wealth Management Group boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in American Express were worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $230.77. The stock had a trading volume of 3,203,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $224.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.30. The firm 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. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.