Metis Global Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,214 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.88. The company has a market cap of $165.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

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.