American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of AXP opened at $295.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $307.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1-year low of $212.48 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.