Naples Global Advisors LLC Sells 260 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Naples Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,819 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $358,000. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 830 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in American Express by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in American Express by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 16,364 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,857,000 after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $306.46 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $306.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 1-year low of $207.61 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

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.