Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 228,072 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,212 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 228,072 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.09% of American Express worth $183,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of American Express by 493.9% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,382 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $7,408,000. B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $1,626,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $66,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

AXP opened at $265.16 on Monday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $295.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.68.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

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.