ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $33.74 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,094 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.7% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $33,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 118,198.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after acquiring an additional 13,720,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $911,554,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in American Express by 162.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $124,325,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

American Express stock traded up $13.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $231.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,572,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,134,884. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.35. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

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.