9258 Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

9258 Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE AXP traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $238.75. 1,866,122 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,998,158. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $171.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.14. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.