IFG Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

IFG Advisory LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,423 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,517 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $210.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.98%.

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.