Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,362 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Western Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $8.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $293.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,603,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,848,611. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $269.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, 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 has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm 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 previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

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.