Oxbow Advisors LLC Sells 39 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Oxbow Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,653 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research increased their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $295.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52-week low of $212.48 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $307.54 and its 200-day moving average is $284.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.