Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in American Express by 0.6%, selling 24,210 shares, and currently holds approximately 0.55% of the company valued at over $1 billion.
• Insiders, including Anna Marrs and Glenda G. Mcneal, sold significant amounts of American Express shares, marking 21.31% and 82.03% decreases in their individual holdings, respectively.
• American Express reported a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase, with quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.22.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,854,224 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 24,210 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of American Express worth $1,036,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $2.68 on Friday, reaching $297.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,778,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,008. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $306.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.91. The stock has a market cap of $206.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28.

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, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express 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.