Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 1,687 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 66.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 855 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,687 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $306.29 and its 200 day moving average is $280.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.