Western Wealth Management LLC Has $346,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Western Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,165 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,362 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:AXP traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $293.31. 1,673,717 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,843,931. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month 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 firm has a market cap of $205.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $269.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, 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. 0.20% of the stock is 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.