American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI

Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,542 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 1.3% of Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $306.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $207.61 and a 52 week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% 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.