American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Capital Management Associates NY

Capital Management Associates NY trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,332 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 864 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates NY’s holdings in American Express were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point dropped their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.97. The company has a market capitalization of $186.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.