Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 52,671 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 93.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,805 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 52,671 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in American Express were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $7.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $260.25. 3,418,658 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,866,271. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $270.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $182.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. 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. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business'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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

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.