Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $99.06 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 528,631 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 7,965 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of American Express worth $99,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.74. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 given a $0.10 dividend. 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 is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

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.