Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 180 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Western Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,579,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $231.05 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.06 and its 200-day moving average is $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

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.