American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Obermeyer Wealth Partners

Obermeyer Wealth Partners lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,104 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in American Express by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.5%

AXP opened at $303.19 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.