Sigma Planning Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,739 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,794 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.24.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $232.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $235.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $220.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company 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 32.39%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.