Cohen Klingenstein LLC Sells 8,000 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cohen Klingenstein LLC trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 186,922 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.9% of Cohen Klingenstein LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Cohen Klingenstein LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $55,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research 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, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $278.09.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $1.27 on Friday, hitting $312.75. 2,180,554 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,022,091. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $299.26 and a 200-day moving average of $271.98. The stock has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $315.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.