Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $6.98 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in American Express by 14.1% in the first quarter, holding shares worth $6.98 million after selling 4,252 shares.
• American Express reported a quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates by $0.22, with a revenue of $17.86 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.
• The company's recent dividend announcement of $0.82 per share will be paid on August 8th, with a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,951 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,252 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in American Express were worth $6,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in American Express by 14.5% in the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 23,920 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $6,436,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $641,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in American Express by 7.4% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,897,024 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $779,444,000 after buying an additional 198,392 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.8% during the first quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 116,223 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $31,270,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 7.3% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $295.46 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.17. The company has a market cap of $205.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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