American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Motco

Motco reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,525 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 555 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in American Express were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in American Express by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

AXP opened at $300.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $307.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.