Leisure Capital Management Lowers Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Leisure Capital Management reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,310 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Bank of Hawaii boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 50.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 26,097 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 8,781 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 30.5% in the first quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,696,152 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $134,352,000 after buying an additional 396,091 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.5% in the first quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 26,925 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 16.7% in the first quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,636 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 14.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,949 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,527,000 after buying an additional 3,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.86% of the company’s stock.

Shares of American Express Company (AXP) traded up 0.80% during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.48. The company had a trading volume of 388,566 shares. American Express Company has a one year low of $59.50 and a one year high of $87.60. The company has a market capitalization of $77.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.99 and a 200 day moving average of $80.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.20 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express Company will post $5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 28th that permits the company to buyback $4.40 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the payment services company to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: This news story was posted by [[site]] and is the sole property of of [[site]]. If you are viewing this news story on another site, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of United States & international copyright & trademark legislation. The original version of this news story can be viewed at [[permalink]].

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, April 22nd. Piper Jaffray Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Saturday, April 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Saturday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (down from $97.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

In other news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 5,981 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total value of $513,648.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Stephen J. Squeri sold 94,792 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.41, for a total transaction of $8,096,184.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 261,665 shares in the company, valued at $22,348,807.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 948,287 shares of company stock worth $80,321,961. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a global services company. The Company’s principal products and services are charge and credit card products, and travel-related services, which are offered to consumers and businesses around the world. Its segments include the U.S. Consumer Services (USCS), International Consumer and Network Services (ICNS), Global Commercial Services (GCS) and Global Merchant Services (GMS).