Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $598,000 Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,192 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $217.62 on Thursday. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $219.56 and a 200-day moving average of $187.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $157.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

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.