Summit Global Investments Sells 4,219 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Summit Global Investments cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 68.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,924 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,219 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in American Express were worth $571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management increased its position in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its position in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

AXP stock opened at $270.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $298.30 and a 200-day moving average of $288.81.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reduced their target price on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

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.