Praxis Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Praxis Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,794 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after acquiring an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $323.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $225.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $324.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.60.

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.