CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 1,478 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 214,952 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,478 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $65,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Compass Point reduced their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $265.16 on Monday. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.