Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 141,625 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 541,613 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 141,625 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $160,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research increased their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $295.16 on Tuesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $213.25 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

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.