Intellectus Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Intellectus Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,310 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $484,000. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $177,097,000 after purchasing an additional 28,371 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $349,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $273.13 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $305.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.63.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

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.