American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 831,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 364,089 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.12% of American Express worth $189,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

American Express Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $2.02 on Tuesday, hitting $246.77. 2,563,955 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,017,842. The company has a market capitalization of $177.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G 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 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $253.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $236.17 and its 200 day moving average is $223.03.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. 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.