Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,230 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.3% of Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying 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 purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $312.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $307.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.46. American Express has a 12-month low of $209.10 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $220.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.