NewEdge Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

NewEdge Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,776 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,392 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $21,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

American Express Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE AXP traded up $7.57 on Tuesday, reaching $250.08. The company had a trading volume of 642,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,864,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $271.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.61. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $175.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $290.90.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. 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.