American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by RB Capital Management LLC

RB Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,554 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale 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 on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.46. 4,140,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,207,239. The stock has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $223.53 and its 200 day moving average is $193.22. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.