Hi Line Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hi Line Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,644 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,904 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 3.7% of Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,037,387,000 after acquiring an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in American Express by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $268,549,000 after buying an additional 102,977 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in American Express by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,856,000 after buying an additional 102,132 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.5% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $220,825,000 after acquiring an additional 21,876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $236.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG 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. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898. Company 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.