New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 302 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,753 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $17,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 1.0 %

American Express stock opened at $233.68 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.49. The company has a market cap of $168.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

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.