American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,512 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,870 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in American Express were worth $1,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. 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 boosted its stake in 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 worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 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. Finally, 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $5.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $255.38. 4,924,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,682,411. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change 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 1.28%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction 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 trade 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 link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express 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.