American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Decreased by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,688 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,153 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $18,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. 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 report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $8.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $308.48. 2,805,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,032,043. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $284.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.56. The firm has a market cap of $216.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG 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 $326.27.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.