Vivid Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vivid Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,854 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.3% of Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $311.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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.