Novare Capital Management LLC Sells 85 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Novare Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,119 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $295.25.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $328.36 on Friday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $295.62 and its 200 day moving average is $289.85. The company has a market capitalization of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.