QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in American Express by 33.8%, owning 93,901 shares worth approximately $29.95 million after selling 47,869 shares in the second quarter.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for American Express, with Citigroup upgrading its target to $327.00 and Wells Fargo increasing it to $375.00, highlighting a strong sentiment towards the stock.
• In recent insider trading, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster and CEO Stephen J. Squeri collectively sold over 135,000 shares of the company's stock, indicating significant changes in insider ownership.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,901 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 47,869 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $29,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 104.0% during the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $330.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $320.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.24. 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 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.