Amalgamated Bank Sells 6,924 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 143,332 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,924 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $232.50. 2,700,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,211,504. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $223.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.49. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.