Wealthspire Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,795 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 557 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $485,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $1,432,000. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 44,797 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,392,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $238.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $171.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $234.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick 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 $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.50.

American Express 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.