American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,240 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,031,000 after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares during the period. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of American Express by 870.0% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 13,143 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 11,788 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in American Express by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 5,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 193,261 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $36,206,000 after acquiring an additional 30,576 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $230.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $224.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.88. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.