InterOcean Capital Group LLC Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,880 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.3 %

AXP traded down $0.76 on Thursday, reaching $240.23. 3,828,262 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,022,293. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $253.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.15. The company has a market cap of $170.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.16 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

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.