Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.84.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $227.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $211.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.65.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. American Express’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.