Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,658 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $781,000. Tang Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 279.5% during the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,798 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 100,466.7% during the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,791,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $299.48 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $266.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.12. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $209.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

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.