Altshuler Shaham Ltd Sells 326 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,589 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 326 shares during the quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $239.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,161,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $225.67 and its 200 day moving average is $196.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the 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 approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.