Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 71.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,884 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,777 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 233,406 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $69,273,000 after buying an additional 48,681 shares in the last quarter. Global Frontier Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,531,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Parkshore Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,813,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $621,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Compass Point dropped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AXP opened at $284.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $263.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.10.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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