Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,388 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $239.00. 2,968,824 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,175,029. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $221.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.11% 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.