American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,901 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 47,869 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $29,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $126,119,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The stock has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $320.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.95.

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.