Wintrust Investments LLC Sells 385 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wintrust Investments LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 535 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of American Express by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.8% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,903 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,499,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.4% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of American Express by 4.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $303.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.