American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 69,674 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.8% of Parthenon LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in American Express by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its stake in American Express by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $533,018,000 after buying an additional 67,575 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $268,549,000 after buying an additional 102,977 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,856,000 after acquiring an additional 102,132 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.5% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $220,825,000 after acquiring an additional 21,876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $4.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.13. The company had a trading volume of 3,562,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,206,016. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month 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’s 50 day moving average is $223.53 and its 200-day moving average is $193.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 over the last three months. 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.