OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,023,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 41,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,373,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its position in American Express by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,515,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Compass Point decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

American Express stock opened at $265.16 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. The firm has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $295.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.13. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

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