United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,096 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,209 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $29,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE AXP traded down $1.44 on Friday, reaching $251.48. The company had a trading volume of 3,906,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,867,825. The company's fifty day moving average is $272.87 and its 200-day moving average is $287.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research 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 stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.90.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, 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 transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.