Sapient Capital LLC Sells 293 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,430 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CIC Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.13. 3,562,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,206,016. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $223.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 payout ratio is 23.06%.

American Express Profile

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.