Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 187 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,503 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. HC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 140,041 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $41,563,000 after buying an additional 24,279 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 50,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,842,000 after acquiring an additional 4,959 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,359 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $307.39 and its 200-day moving average is $285.99. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $206.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. BTIG Research increased their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.