American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,103,942 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 26,162 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.16% of American Express worth $327,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Finally, Compass Point decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $2.95 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $309.90. 2,147,517 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,445,843. American Express has a 52-week low of $209.10 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $217.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $307.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.46.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.