Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 1,687 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 66.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 855 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,687 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its position in American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 2,670 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $374,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in American Express by 34.2% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in American Express by 129.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $250,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Compass Point decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $310.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.31. American Express has a twelve month low of $207.61 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $218.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.