UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,464 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in American Express by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $268,549,000 after purchasing an additional 102,977 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Express by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $294,856,000 after purchasing an additional 102,132 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in American Express by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $220,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,540,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $234.66. 2,068,600 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,187,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.48. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s 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 $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 321,200 shares of company stock valued at $71,640,500. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

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.