American Financial Advisors LLC Sells 75 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

American Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 771 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $311.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $306.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.04. The stock has a market cap of $219.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52-week low of $209.10 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.