Marietta Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,623 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $270.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

American Express 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.