American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $270.66 on Thursday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $299.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.35. The company has a market cap of $190.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.