Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 15,398 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its stake in American Express by 9.4%, selling 15,398 shares in the first quarter, and now holds 148,522 shares valued at approximately $40 million.
• Insider sales at American Express included a transaction by Glenda G. Mcneal, who sold 3,019 shares for about $799,000, representing a 21.66% decrease in their stake.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, with a yield of 1.06%, set to be paid on August 8th to shareholders of record on July 3rd.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,522 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 15,398 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in American Express were worth $40,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% 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.

American Express Trading Down 0.1%

AXP opened at $308.21 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $304.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $214.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

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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