Palisade Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,998 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after buying an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 9,138 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in American Express by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,279 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,205 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 6,705 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in American Express by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 13,317 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $1.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $236.24. 2,489,122 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,167,598. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 327,933 shares of company stock worth $73,199,843 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.