Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $8.46 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,162 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 1.5 %

AXP traded up $3.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $234.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,259,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,200,852. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.48.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 321,200 shares of company stock worth $71,640,500. Corporate insiders own 0.11% 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.