Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC decreased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,148 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of American Express by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew 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 valued at $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $328.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $230.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $295.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.83.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

American Express 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.