American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,015 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,462 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $270.80 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.77 and a 200-day moving average of $288.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $190.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

American Express Company 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.