Freedom Together Foundation Sells 35,000 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Freedom Together Foundation cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 79.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,851 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 35,000 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 0.3% of Freedom Together Foundation’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Freedom Together Foundation’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Compass Point lowered their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

AXP stock opened at $284.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G 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 company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

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.