New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 680 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

New York Life Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 82,818 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $24,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $295.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.93. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

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.