Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 2,371 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,823 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,371 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.5% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,364,000. Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,332 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,066,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. BTIG Research cut shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $300.23. 2,370,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,250,322. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $297.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.12. American Express has a 1-year low of $177.81 and a 1-year high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $211.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

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.