Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 831,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 364,089 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $189,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in American Express by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after buying an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.02 on Tuesday, hitting $246.77. 2,563,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,017,842. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.76. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $253.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.03.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

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.