Knuff & Co LLC Has $1.81 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Knuff & Co LLC lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,650 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.77. The stock had a trading volume of 3,203,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $224.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

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.