American Express (NYSE:AXP) Insider Raymond Joabar Sells 15,179 Shares

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

American Express Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $3.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $318.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,517,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,723,830. The company has a market capitalization of $224.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.54. American Express has a one year low of $199.88 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC grew its position in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $298,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research boosted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.95.

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.