Lincoln Capital LLC Has $4.93 Million Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Lincoln Capital LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 27.2% in the first quarter, owning 19,518 shares valued at approximately $4.93 million.
• A significant insider, Laureen Seeger, sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock at an average price of $297.47, reducing her ownership by 87.27%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on American Express, with a consensus price target of $311.05 and two analysts rating it as a sell.

Lincoln Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 27.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,518 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,171 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.0% of Lincoln Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Lincoln Capital LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $4,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of American Express by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl grew its stake in shares of American Express by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 3,673 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,099,391,000 after buying an additional 74,977 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $305.36 on Monday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $307.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.97. The company has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

American Express Company 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.

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