American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Cut by Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,404 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of American Express by 105.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 31.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 109,198 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,285,000 after acquiring an additional 25,937 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 6.3% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $320.87 on Monday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $186.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $302.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.