Ariston Services Group Sells 421 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ariston Services Group reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,099 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Ariston Services Group’s holdings in American Express were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $307.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.39. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $207.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.