Aberdeen Group plc Has $209.15 Million Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc sold 442,591 shares of American Express, reducing its stake in the company by 36.0%, resulting in ownership of 787,694 shares worth about $209 million.
• American Express reported an EPS of $4.08 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 9.3% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company's recently announced quarterly dividend was $0.82, indicating a 1.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 787,694 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 442,591 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.11% of American Express worth $209,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coleford Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $27,783,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:AXP traded down $0.9370 on Tuesday, reaching $306.1130. The stock had a trading volume of 2,214,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,467. The company has a market cap of $213.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $307.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.90. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.