Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Decreases Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 42.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,497 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,562 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in American Express by 1.0% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 114,351 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $30,766,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 7,805 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 10.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 812 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 10,224 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $328.36. 1,541,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,837,694. The company's fifty day moving average is $293.14 and its 200-day moving average is $289.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.07. The firm has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.