Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,010 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 3.2% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in American Express by 463.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

AXP opened at $284.43 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $263.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.05.

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.