Davis R M Inc. Sells 759 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Davis R M Inc. reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 50.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 732 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 759 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $303.18 and a 200-day moving average of $288.10. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.