American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 424,918 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 31,473 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $126,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $300.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.24.

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.