Prostatis Group LLC Sells 3,852 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Prostatis Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 65.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,990 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,852 shares during the quarter. Prostatis Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% 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 company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $294.04. 5,251,732 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,856,127. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock's fifty day moving average is $270.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.68. The company has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. 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 business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. 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 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

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.