Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,373 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,122 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE AXP opened at $298.50 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $283.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.59. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

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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