Leisure Capital Management Sells 58 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Leisure Capital Management cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,705 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of 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 is available at this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.