LGT Group Foundation Sells 4,962 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

LGT Group Foundation lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,149 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,962 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.16 on Friday, reaching $231.34. 2,090,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,197,938. The firm has a market cap of $166.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $224.31 and a 200-day moving average of $193.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.