Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 532 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,594 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in American Express were worth $11,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 26,783.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after acquiring an additional 906,353 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $304.08 on Friday. American Express has a one year low of $209.10 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $213.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $307.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.