Salvus Wealth Management LLC Sells 163 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Salvus Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,662 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 3.9% of Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $311.69 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $177.81 and a 12 month high of $314.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $298.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

American Express Company 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.