Winslow Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Winslow Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,085 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.8% of Winslow Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Winslow Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,887 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 31.3% during the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 14.2% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,272 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in American Express by 143.0% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 12,192 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,776,000 after buying an additional 7,174 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in American Express by 140.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 816,322 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,869,000 after buying an additional 476,543 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $293.05 on Tuesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $153.50 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.86.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.