Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,148 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,203 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Express by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,876,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 9.0% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,590 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,956,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

AXP stock opened at $262.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.47. The company has a market cap of $184.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

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.