Forza Wealth Management LLC Sells 70 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Forza Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,608 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

American Express stock traded up $3.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $238.92. 3,691,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,201,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

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.