Concord Wealth Partners Sells 250 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Concord Wealth Partners trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of American Express by 105.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of American Express by 5.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 114,408 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $31,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,122 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,404 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $317.12 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $223.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $304.98 and a 200 day moving average of $277.34. American Express has a 1 year low of $199.88 and a 1 year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 currently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.