Insight Inv LLC Has $3.77 Million Position in American Express Company $AXP

Insight Inv LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,811 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 2.5% of Insight Inv LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Insight Inv LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,370,489,000 after purchasing an additional 78,538 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,278,711,000 after purchasing an additional 965,221 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $323.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $321.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.43. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The firm has a market cap of $225.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value 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. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.55.

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.