American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Leisure Capital Management

Leisure Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,705 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The business has a 50 day moving average of $222.57 and a 200 day moving average of $191.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.