Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,600 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $267.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.39. American Express has a 12-month low of $141.02 and a 12-month high of $286.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.