Financial Avengers Inc. Sells 2,601 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Financial Avengers Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,215 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,601 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 5.8% of Financial Avengers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Financial Avengers Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $12,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.86 during trading on Monday, reaching $285.32. 1,724,091 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,849,593. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.61. The firm has a market cap of $199.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 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.