American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Smead Capital Management Inc.

Smead Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,682,262 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 75,946 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 5.6% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned 0.23% of American Express worth $315,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

AXP traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $219.05. 1,862,998 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,045,043. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.58. The company has a market cap of $158.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. American Express’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.