Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,423 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $232.88 on Tuesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $235.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $168.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $220.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.56.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.24.

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.