Banque Transatlantique SA Decreases Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Banque Transatlantique SA decreased its ownership of American Express shares by 23.4%, holding 9,403 shares worth approximately $2.34 million after the sale.
• American Express reported an EPS of $4.08 for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 9.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $17.86 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 23.02%.

Banque Transatlantique SA reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,403 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,880 shares during the quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA's holdings in American Express were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,412 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $1,358,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,724 shares of company stock worth $48,227,228. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.45.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $4.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $326.37. 2,971,185 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,244,027. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The company has a market cap of $227.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $313.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

American Express Company 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.