Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 3,309 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bell Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,502 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,309 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $292,081,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in American Express by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $450,429,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.24.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $233.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $288.96 and its 200 day moving average is $289.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.