Altshuler Shaham Ltd Sells 326 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,589 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 326 shares during the quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.90 on Thursday, hitting $239.14. 3,161,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.42.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.