Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 148 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $310.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $306.29 and a 200 day moving average of $280.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $218.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a twelve month low of $207.61 and a twelve month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express 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.