Ellis Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 22,946 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,670,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,995 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $311.37 on Monday. American Express has a 1 year low of $209.10 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $306.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $218.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.