Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. sold 9,152 shares of American Express, reducing its stake in the company by 20.7%, while total holdings were valued at approximately $9.42 million.
• American Express recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and recorded revenue of $17.86 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an ex-dividend date of July 3rd, representing an annualized yield of 1.05%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 20.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,010 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 9,152 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $9,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $2.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $301.26. 839,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,729. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The firm has a market cap of $209.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $305.75 and its 200-day moving average is $291.52. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.