American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,192 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. 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, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express 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 approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $217.62 on Thursday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $219.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $157.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.98%.

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.