Garrison Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Garrison Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AXP traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $233.00. 5,142,729 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,151,240. The firm has a market cap of $168.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.95. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $235.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.24.

American Express Company 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.