Wesleyan Assurance Society Sells 3,555 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wesleyan Assurance Society decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,345 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,555 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.4% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in American Express were worth $18,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value 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 trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $266.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.43. The company has a market capitalization of $209.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BTIG Research cut their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

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.

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