Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 159 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,526 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in American Express were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $325.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12 month low of $185.73 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.70. The stock has a market cap of $229.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.