Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC Sells 204 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,675 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 327,933 shares of company stock worth $73,199,843 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

American Express stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $236.09. 2,501,199 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,180,452. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $169.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $225.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.