Hosking Partners LLP Sells 43,010 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Hosking Partners LLP reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 14.6%, now holding 251,323 shares valued at approximately $67.6 million, making it the 9th largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider selling has been significant, with Glenda G. Mcneal and Laureen Seeger selling 50,000 and 16,998 shares respectively, indicating potential concerns about the company's future performance.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" on American Express, with a price target averaging around $311.05, while the company reported a better-than-expected quarterly earnings despite mixed ratings from different analysts.

Hosking Partners LLP lowered its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 14.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,323 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 43,010 shares during the period. American Express comprises 2.9% of Hosking Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Hosking Partners LLP's holdings in American Express were worth $67,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $296.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,316,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,359. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $306.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.45.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.