Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 480,181 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,670 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.07% of American Express worth $89,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. Intellectus Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,047,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $209.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $235.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $222.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.02. The firm has a market cap of $169.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

American Express Company 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.