Sandy Spring Bank Sells 1,181 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sandy Spring Bank cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,705 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,181 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $15,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $292,081,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in 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 buying an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut 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. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $7.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $277.98. 2,650,586 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,626,371. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $298.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.81. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $195.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.