Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Decreases Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,429 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $305.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $307.22 and a 200 day moving average of $290.34. The company has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.