Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 924 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,422 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $10,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $3.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $311.37. 1,724,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,536,095. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $306.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.04. The company has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.38.

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.