Cullen Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cullen Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,168 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,221 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,140 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in American Express by 1.7% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 239,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $64,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,912 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in American Express by 22.9% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,411 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $9,875,000 after acquiring an additional 6,789 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in American Express by 9.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 615,554 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $166,959,000 after acquiring an additional 51,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $4,907,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point reduced their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

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.