First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 21,842 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC reduced its holdings in American Express by 4.0%, selling 21,842 shares to hold approximately $139.6 million worth of the company's stock.
• Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of American Express stock valued at $40.6 million over the last 90 days, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership percentages.
• American Express shares have a current market cap of $230.77 billion and reported earnings of $4.08 per share in the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 518,837 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 21,842 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 0.07% of American Express worth $139,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE AXP traded down $4.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $326.37. 2,971,185 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,244,027. The company has a 50 day moving average of $313.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $332.46. The firm has a market cap of $227.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 157,724 shares of company stock worth $48,227,228. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

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.