Acima Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Acima Private Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after acquiring an additional 41,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $909,575,000 after acquiring an additional 496,153 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.63 on Friday, reaching $224.82. 2,373,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,229. The firm has a market cap of $161.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $244.41. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $232.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.91.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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 American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

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.