Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,803 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Avior Wealth Management LLC cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,123 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,803 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in American Express by 105.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 58.0% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 110,339 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,549,000 after purchasing an additional 40,499 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 327.1% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 23,961 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after buying an additional 18,351 shares during the period. Finally, Trinity Legacy Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.7% during the second quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,057,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $322.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $227.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $300.94 and its 200 day moving average is $273.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $184.81 and a one year high of $322.82.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

American Express 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.