Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 2,012 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,012 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 14,521 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $523,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.45.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $324.41 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $313.37 and its 200 day moving average is $291.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $225.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.