Summit Global Investments Sells 4,219 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Summit Global Investments lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 68.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,924 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,219 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in American Express were worth $571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $731,000. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,482 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 6,537 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,940,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.

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American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $3.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $272.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,312,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,264. The company has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $296.76 and a 200-day moving average of $289.15.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.