American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,955 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 742 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,031,000 after buying an additional 3,169 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its position in shares of American Express by 870.0% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 13,143 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 11,788 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 5,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 193,261 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $36,206,000 after purchasing an additional 30,576 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.73 on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.30. The company has a market cap of $165.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

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.