Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 6,443 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 38.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,237 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 6,443 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $2,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents 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

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AXP opened at $298.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25. 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 $326.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $283.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.59.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

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.

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