Gradient Investments LLC Has $14.33 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,266 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 5,689 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $14,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $5.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $320.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,256,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,894,205. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $302.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.66. 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 has a one year low of $186.43 and a one year high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $281.00.

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.