American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Beacon Financial Group

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,792 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management increased its position in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

American Express stock opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52 week low of $207.61 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.