Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,803 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Avior Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,123 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,803 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,213 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,405,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 8,259 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,883 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $322.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $227.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $184.81 and a 12-month high of $322.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $300.94 and its 200-day moving average is $273.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

American Express 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.