Wolf Group Capital Advisors Trims Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Wolf Group Capital Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,327 shares during the quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors’ holdings in American Express were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in American Express by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:AXP opened at $292.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $280.75 and a 200 day moving average of $288.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company 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 will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

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.