Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Sells 4,032 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,802 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,032 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $293.12 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $307.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $205.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $213.25 and a 52 week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.