Lazari Capital Management Inc. Sells 300 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,630 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’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 transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’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 transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $224.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,373,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,229. The company has a market cap of $161.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $232.70 and its 200-day moving average is $211.91. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 32.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio 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.