Bull Street Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Bull Street Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,430 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.8% of Bull Street Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bull Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $126,119,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 2.5%

AXP stock opened at $316.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $322.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 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.