Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 1,194 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 52.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,096 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,194 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth about $1,175,000. Cypress Capital Group raised its position in American Express by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 2,247 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 9.4% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 41,652 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $11,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $3.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,577,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,176. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.24. The company has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Compass Point lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.