American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,621 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 24,538 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $275.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.87 and a 200 day moving average of $286.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $193.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.