American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,302 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,607 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE AXP traded down $0.45 on Wednesday, reaching $293.31. 1,673,917 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,846,057. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $270.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.66. The company has a market cap of $205.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.