LGT Group Foundation Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation has reduced its holdings in American Express by 9.1%, selling 1,757 shares and retaining 17,596 shares valued at approximately $4.73 million.
• In the first quarter, several large investors such as Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs Group increased their stakes in American Express, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• American Express reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, exceeding consensus estimates and showcasing a revenue growth of 9.3% year-over-year.

LGT Group Foundation cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,596 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in American Express were worth $4,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the first 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 buying an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $2.37 on Friday, hitting $305.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,727,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,531,360. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $307.22 and a 200-day moving average of $290.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid 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 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% 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. Company 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.