Westside Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Westside Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 99.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 712 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 101,000 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $322.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52-week low of $184.81 and a 52-week high of $322.82.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

About American Express

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.