Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,802,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 631,101 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 0.9% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 1.36% of American Express worth $1,836,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in American Express by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after purchasing an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its stake in American Express by 1.9% during the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $533,018,000 after purchasing an additional 67,575 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in American Express by 6.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $268,549,000 after purchasing an additional 102,977 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in American Express by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,856,000 after purchasing an additional 102,132 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in American Express by 1.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $220,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,876 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $232.64. The stock had a trading volume of 877,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,188,471. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $167.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

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 return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

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.