AIA Group Ltd Sells 11,878 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

AIA Group Ltd cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 63.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,900 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 11,878 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in American Express by 35.4% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 9.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,905 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,970,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $485,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 9.6% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 29.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AXP traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $238.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,612,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,356,622. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $234.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.65. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a market capitalization of $171.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.50.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.