American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 51.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,588 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,031 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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 value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.24.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $238.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.19. The stock has a market cap of $172.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $239.42.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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