American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291,425 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 32,541 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $54,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $217.50. The stock had a trading volume of 3,880,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,075,421. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $219.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

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.