American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Chapman Investment Management LLC

Chapman Investment Management LLC lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,935 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 3.7% of Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. CIC Wealth LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 3.2% in the first quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank raised its position in American Express by 0.8% during the first quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 6,202 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.8% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $238.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,868,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,492. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. The firm has a market cap of $171.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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