American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Decreased by Davis Selected Advisers

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers has reduced its stake in American Express by 1.1%, holding 271,435 shares valued at approximately $73 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Equities analysts have shown optimism, with several raising target prices; for instance, Barclays increased its target from $249 to $297, indicating a generally favorable outlook for the stock.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates and achieving a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $17.86 billion.

Davis Selected Advisers lessened its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,435 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,055 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers' holdings in American Express were worth $73,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.68 on Friday, reaching $297.41. 1,778,023 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,640,008. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The firm has a market cap of $206.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $306.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.