Smith Moore & CO. Sells 96 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Smith Moore & CO. trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,945 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in American Express were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,907,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Zega Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,769,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $288.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.44. The company has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Compass Point cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related 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 value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.