Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 29.9%, selling 5,683 shares to hold a total of 13,299 shares, which represent about 1.7% of its portfolio.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Wellington Management Group, increased their stakes in American Express, amidst a rising overall institutional ownership of 84.33%.
• American Express reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, beating analyst expectations, with revenue of $17.86 billion, an increase of 9.3% year-over-year.

Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,299 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 5,683 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.7% of Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $6.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $329.43. 2,825,642 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,258,363. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $313.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.71. The company has a market cap of $229.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.