State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,602 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 357,685 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,602 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in American Express were worth $67,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,195,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.11 and a 200-day moving average of $190.85. The company has a market capitalization of $169.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.