Provence Wealth Management Group Acquires 258 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Provence Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in American Express were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.30. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.