Ibex Wealth Advisors Sells 56,408 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ibex Wealth Advisors decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 81.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,664 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 56,408 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in American Express were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in American Express by 105.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth $214,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 3.8% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $330,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

AXP traded up $0.75 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $317.79. 167,554 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,621,466. The firm has a market cap of $223.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1 year low of $199.88 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.50.

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.