Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $99.06 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 528,631 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 7,965 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $99,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

American Express stock traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $222.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.74. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

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.