Mattson Financial Services LLC Sells 1,634 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mattson Financial Services LLC lowered its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,641 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,634 shares during the quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.34 on Friday, reaching $294.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,251,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,847,102. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-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 firm has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $270.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio 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.