Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,784 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 939 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $16,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE AXP traded down $8.36 on Friday, reaching $295.50. 1,973,779 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,439,802. The business's fifty day moving average price is $307.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $212.48 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.