Bell Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bell Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.81.

American Express Trading Up 1.9 %

American Express stock traded up $4.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $251.46. The stock had a trading volume of 4,412,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,151. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $279.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.26. American Express has a one year low of $216.12 and a one year high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

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.