Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Has $4.42 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,603 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,493 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth 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 period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 0.8 %

American Express stock traded down $2.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $237.10. 3,327,953 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,198,073. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $221.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

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.