Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Sells 71 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 509 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in American Express were worth $151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its stake in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $295.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $307.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.27. The company has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $212.48 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. 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) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.