Obermeyer Wealth Partners Sells 399 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Obermeyer Wealth Partners lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,394 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. Keybank National Association OH lifted 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 valued at $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in American Express by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $298.96 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $263.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.