American Express Company $AXP Stock Holdings Trimmed by Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 0.5%, now holding 164,288 shares valued at approximately $44 million, which constitutes 6.1% of its total portfolio.
• Insider selling was notable, with Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster and CEO Stephen J. Squeri selling a combined total of over $44 million in shares in early September.
• American Express recently reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, reporting an EPS of $4.08, exceeding analysts' estimates, and a revenue increase of 9.3% year-over-year.

Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,288 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 883 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 6.1% of Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $44,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $323.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $225.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. 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 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $313.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.47.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.45.

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.

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