Wealthfront Advisers LLC Sells 2,053 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,148 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,053 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $18,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 68,718 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $18,488,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $126,119,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in American Express by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 11,048 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,972,000 after buying an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.4%

AXP opened at $320.83 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $301.65 and a 200-day moving average of $290.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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