American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Cut by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auxier Asset Management raised its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in American Express by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $302.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $177.81 and a 12-month high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $295.23 and a 200-day moving average of $268.18.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.64.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.