State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 19,928 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in American Express Company by 9.5%, owning 190,342 shares valued at approximately $51.2 million.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.86 and showing a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,342 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 19,928 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in American Express were worth $51,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after buying an additional 2,155,045 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AXP stock traded down $0.9370 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $306.1130. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,215,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,935,269. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $307.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.90. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $213.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

American Express 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.