Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 3,475 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 345,851 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,475 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $102,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after buying an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.3 %

AXP stock opened at $255.38 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $303.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.