Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,136 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in American Express by 105.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth about $214,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.8% during 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 period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 7.7% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $330,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.50.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $223.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $302.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.72. American Express has a 52 week low of $199.07 and a 52 week high of $326.27. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.