Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 601 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,648 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $320.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. American Express has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $305.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.72. The company has a market capitalization of $225.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.