KWB Wealth Sells 1,054 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

KWB Wealth trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,838 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the quarter. KWB Wealth’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $235.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,365,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,733,787. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.58 and a 200 day moving average of $217.31. The stock has a market cap of $169.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $244.41. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.