Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Sells 94,974 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 93.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,418 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 94,974 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $308.73 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $286.36 and its 200 day moving average is $288.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.