American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Abbrea Capital LLC

Abbrea Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,042 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $237.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,327,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,198,066. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.53. The stock has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.