Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,283 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 636.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after buying an additional 382,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $230.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.30. The company has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.