Cozad Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,777 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 41,332 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $11,209,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $815,000. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in American Express by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 3,914 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 501,226 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $135,832,000 after buying an additional 10,364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $286.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $202.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $152.05 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.