Nvwm LLC Sells 2,900 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Nvwm LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,058 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 1.1% of Nvwm LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Nvwm LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

American Express stock opened at $315.97 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $305.41 and a 200-day moving average of $278.72. The company has a market cap of $222.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a one year low of $203.42 and a one year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.