Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,445 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $275.32 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $193.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $306.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.50.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Compass Point cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.