Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,218 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 105.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in American Express by 8.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,983 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,233,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in American Express by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 22,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,145,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $316.72 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $207.61 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $306.05 and its 200 day moving average is $279.30.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.