Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Cuts Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG reduced its holdings in American Express by 37.1% during the second quarter, selling 1,145 shares, leaving them with a total of 1,945 shares valued at approximately $620,000.
• American Express's CEO, Stephen J. Squeri, sold over 112,000 shares for approximately $37 million, marking a 54.74% decrease in his ownership of the company.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on American Express, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $315.20, while some firms have recently raised their price targets significantly.

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,945 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,145 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in American Express were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:AXP opened at $342.07 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

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.

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