Sigma Planning Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 45.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,739 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,794 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 636.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $65,988,000 after buying an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.24.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $232.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $220.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $235.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company 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 32.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.