Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Sells 225 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,283 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $230.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.30.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.