American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Institute for Wealth Management LLC.

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,331 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.95.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $318.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $224.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.88 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

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.