American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Western Wealth Management LLC

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

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in American Express by 36,719.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE AXP traded up $0.71 on Thursday, reaching $294.07. 512,693 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,837,049. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $270.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.66. The company has a market cap of $206.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost 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 presently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research dropped their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade 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 corporate 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.