American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,182 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,123 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $227.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.69 and a 200-day moving average of $210.57. The company has a market capitalization of $163.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company 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.