American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 480,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,670 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in American Express were worth $89,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 636.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $65,988,000 after buying an additional 382,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew 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 buying an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The firm has a market cap of $169.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $222.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.