Accel Wealth Management Sells 69 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Accel Wealth Management reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,635 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised 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 valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $320.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $302.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.66. American Express has a 52-week low of $186.43 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.00.

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.