Diligent Investors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Diligent Investors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,197 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $275.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $193.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $263.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.89.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

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.