Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,680 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after buying an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after buying an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $262.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $184.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.47. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.