Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in American Express Company $AXP

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,048 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $23,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.60.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This 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 three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $316.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.36. The company has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.