American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Pathstone Holdings LLC

Pathstone Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 110,511 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,734 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $32,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $302.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $264.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.55.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% 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.

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.