Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Has $285,000 Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,253 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $3.15 on Friday, reaching $231.55. 3,901,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,820,091. The company has a 50-day moving average of $234.69 and a 200-day moving average of $216.11. The firm has a market cap of $166.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

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.