Dover Advisors LLC Sells 1,614 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Dover Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,495 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE AXP traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The business’s 50-day moving average is $222.57 and its 200-day moving average is $192.02. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.