New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 88,082 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 826,855 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 88,082 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $154,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its position in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $4.81 on Tuesday, reaching $237.81. 1,397,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,137,593. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $220.47 and its 200-day moving average is $189.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $237.86.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.24.

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.