Sirios Capital Management L P Has $1.45 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sirios Capital Management L P reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 83.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,747 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 38,145 shares during the quarter. Sirios Capital Management L P’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 73,343 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $13,740,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,299,000 after buying an additional 6,987 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Treasury Department grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 334,851 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $62,731,000 after buying an additional 26,533 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 54,653 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,097,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC boosted their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

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 on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $232.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,933,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,062,405. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $232.59 and its 200-day moving average is $210.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $167.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. 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.