American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Eads & Heald Wealth Management

Eads & Heald Wealth Management trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,890 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 1.6% of Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $318.07 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $184.06 and a 52-week high of $319.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.78. The company has a market capitalization of $224.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other 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 value 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. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.