Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,623 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 955 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in American Express by 105.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 31.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 109,198 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,285,000 after purchasing an additional 25,937 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $439,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth $9,352,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 446,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,444,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $320.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $186.43 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average of $274.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.