Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Sells 181 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,524 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,230 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,927,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,592 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,920,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in American Express by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 124,938 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $40,261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,830 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $311.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.04. American Express has a 1 year low of $209.10 and a 1 year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. 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 stock was 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 directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.