American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Ceeto Capital Group LLC

Ceeto Capital Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,440 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,285 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 1.1% of Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 16.7% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,266 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $1,296,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $251.46 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $279.02 and its 200-day moving average is $288.26. The firm has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 12 month low of $216.12 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.81.

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.