Independent Advisor Alliance Cuts Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,172 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,454,667,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $297.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $306.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.45. The firm has a market cap of $206.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.05.

About American Express

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.