Cigna Investments Inc. New Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cigna Investments Inc. New trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,777 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $348,000. Hartline Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 15,271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in American Express by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in American Express by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,877 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $310.13 on Tuesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $207.61 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.