Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Has $6.44 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,689 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $6,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

American Express Stock Down 0.3%

American Express stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $299.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,955,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,834,151. 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 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $264.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.63. The company has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

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.