Mirador Capital Partners LP Sells 138 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mirador Capital Partners LP lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,306 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,112,747,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in American Express by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of American Express by 969.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $112,910,000 after purchasing an additional 546,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE AXP opened at $233.84 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.40. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The firm has a market cap of $168.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

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.