PDS Planning Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

PDS Planning Inc reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,747 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth 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. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.24.

American Express Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $4.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $237.72. 1,358,377 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,136,677. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $237.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $220.47 and a 200-day moving average of $189.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.