American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Addison Advisors LLC

Addison Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 570 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $293.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $205.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.86. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $213.25 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.