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

Mirador Capital Partners LP cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $233.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $168.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.40.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.