Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,166,279 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 24,973 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 0.17% of American Express worth $346,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $294.53. 538,185 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,839,586. The company has a market cap of $206.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

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.