American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd

Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,564,029 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,714 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 11.0% of Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $667,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during 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. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other 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 directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $218.34. 4,176,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $231.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

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.