Principle Wealth Partners LLC Cuts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,331 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 2,670 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $374,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in American Express by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 129.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $310.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.31. American Express has a one year low of $207.61 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

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.