Ruggaard & Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ruggaard & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,270 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 5.8 %

NYSE AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $288.96 and its 200 day moving average is $289.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research raised their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.24.

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.