Rathbones Group PLC Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,753 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,375 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.81.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $4.57 on Friday, reaching $251.46. 4,412,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,882,910. American Express has a twelve month low of $216.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $279.02 and a 200-day moving average of $288.41. The firm has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express 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.