Raymond Joabar Sells 15,179 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $318.84 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.88 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $304.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.95.

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.