Nemes Rush Group LLC Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Nemes Rush Group LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,412 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 493.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,382 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $7,408,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 19.2% during the third quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,912 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $269.25 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $189.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $294.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.78. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.