Summit Global Investments Sells 1,818 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Summit Global Investments decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,190 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in American Express were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 5,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 193,261 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $36,206,000 after acquiring an additional 30,576 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 752,313 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $140,937,000 after purchasing an additional 91,685 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 782.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,662 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 6,794 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $230.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $224.63 and its 200 day moving average is $194.30. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. 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 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.