Redwood Investment Management LLC Sells 229 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Redwood Investment Management LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,523 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,952 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,771,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,497,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $8,107,000. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 3.5% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 32,826 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 8.1% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 61,694 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,047,000 after acquiring an additional 4,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $253.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,167,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,542. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $236.75 and its 200-day moving average is $225.33. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $256.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Profile

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.