Calamos Advisors LLC Has $54.60 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 291,425 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 32,541 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $54,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express 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 directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $217.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,880,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,075,421. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $219.56 and a 200-day moving average of $187.58. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $231.69.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is 24.98%.

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.