Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Sells 200 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 2.3% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $292,081,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in American Express by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $450,429,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $275.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.15. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

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.