Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Trims Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec reduced its stake in American Express by 32.7%, holding 318,745 shares after selling 155,007 shares in Q1, valued at approximately $85.76 million.
• During the same period, other institutional investors, such as Kayne Anderson Rudnick and Mirova, increased their holdings in American Express, indicating fluctuating investor confidence.
• American Express reported a quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates and showing a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase, with a declared dividend of $0.82 per share.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 32.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 318,745 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 155,007 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in American Express were worth $85,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 64.0% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,659 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Mirova grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.7% in the first quarter. Mirova now owns 45,785 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in American Express by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 167,832 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,376 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 24,178 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $6,505,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.0%

AXP stock opened at $316.0030 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $308.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.67. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a market cap of $219.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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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