Fiduciary Group LLC Sells 56 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fiduciary Group LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $270.66 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.35. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $190.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.