American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,740 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,120 shares during the quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $292,081,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 538.7% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $102,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,168 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.90.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $242.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $271.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.