Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 1,502 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,620 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $27,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after buying an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $73,906,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 636.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,933 shares of company stock valued at $73,199,843 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,084,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,188,171. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.14. The company has a market capitalization of $168.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

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.