American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,279 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 44,690 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.1% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $227.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $231.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.65. The company has a market cap of $164.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 21.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.84.

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.