Rice Partnership LLC Trims Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Rice Partnership LLC cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,359 shares during the period. American Express comprises 3.2% of Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.25.

American Express Stock Up 0.8%

AXP stock opened at $328.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $295.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.85.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.