Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $15.92 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,388 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $239.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,968,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,175,029. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $171.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders 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 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 related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

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.