Zacks Investment Management Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,418 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 5,532 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in American Express were worth $58,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $9.50 on Monday, reaching $241.81. 1,707,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,863,558. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.33.

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.