American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,604 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 10,175 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in American Express were worth $14,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position in American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.24.

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.