Coleford Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Coleford Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 91,782 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,831 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 6.9% of Coleford Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Coleford Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in American Express were worth $24,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $6.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $308.38. 5,478,921 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,852,726. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.68.

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.