American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 1.7%, holding 115,834 shares valued at $31.17 million after selling 2,012 shares in the 1st quarter.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue increasing by 9.3% year-over-year to $17.86 billion.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold over 112,000 shares of American Express, representing a significant decrease in his stake, highlighting insider transactions amidst varying analyst ratings for the company's stock.

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,834 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,012 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $31,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 368.7% in the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.2%

American Express stock traded down $3.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $325.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,000,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,294,247. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.93.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

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.