Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 312,830 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,114 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $71,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 32.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $41,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 10.6% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,581 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.7% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

AXP stock opened at $228.41 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13 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, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. 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 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.