Dover Advisors LLC Decreases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Dover Advisors LLC cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,495 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.02.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.