American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,735 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 1.2% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in shares of American Express by 17.8% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,083 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in American Express by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,930,000 after acquiring an additional 7,990 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in American Express by 3.5% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $2,943,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $311.37 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $209.10 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.