Moran Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,688 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,153 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $18,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $299.73 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $284.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend 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.