Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 9,737 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,057 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 9,737 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $38,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $2,460,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $217.51 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $219.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $231.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.