American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,848 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 5,437 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 636.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after acquiring an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. HSBC boosted their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $235.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $169.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.