Stone Summit Wealth LLC Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stone Summit Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,064 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 891 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.6% of Stone Summit Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Stone Summit Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.1 %

AXP stock opened at $316.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $207.61 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.03.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.