State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,677 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in American Express were worth $35,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $235.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,861,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,046,119. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $234.71 and a 200-day moving average of $216.79. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The stock has a market cap of $169.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

About American Express

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.