Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Sells 1,219 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,836 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,219 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in American Express were worth $38,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $266.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.43. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% 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.