Valueworks LLC Sells 859 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Valueworks LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,577 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 859 shares during the period. American Express makes up 1.0% of Valueworks LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Valueworks LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after acquiring an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in American Express by 463.3% in 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $266.96 and its 200 day moving average is $288.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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