Defined Wealth Management LLC Has $762,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Defined Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,347 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $230.68 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.15. The firm has a market cap of $165.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.