Winslow Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Winslow Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,139 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 1.9% of Winslow Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Winslow Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in American Express by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Arista Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 7,750 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,300,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

American Express Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $320.83 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.63. The company has a market cap of $224.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

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.