State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,685 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,602 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in American Express were worth $67,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,993,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,195,554. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.11 and a 200-day moving average of $190.85.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Company 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.