Strategic Investment Advisors MI Lowers Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI reduced its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,749 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 3.0%

AXP opened at $308.48 on Wednesday. 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 price of $285.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.70. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.