American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 999,071 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 81,506 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.14% of American Express worth $296,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $272.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.03. The firm has a market cap of $191.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.