American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Cape Investment Advisory Inc.

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 512 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. CIC Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 6,202 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $16.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $232.28. The stock had a trading volume of 6,902,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,841,174. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $256.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $167.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.