Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $124.46 Million Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners reduced its stake in American Express by 5.3%, now holding 462,588 shares valued at approximately $124.46 million according to recent SEC filings.
• American Express recently reported earnings of $4.08 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Multiple research firms have reiterated positive ratings on American Express, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $311.05.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 462,588 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 25,700 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.07% of American Express worth $124,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in shares of American Express by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 206,426 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $55,568,000 after buying an additional 77,214 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 6.6% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,395 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $7,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 10.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,588 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,311,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in American Express by 26.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,970,014 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $530,032,000 after acquiring an additional 410,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 157,724 shares of company stock valued at $48,227,228. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of American Express stock traded down $4.28 on Friday, hitting $326.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,971,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,244,027. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $313.21 and a 200-day moving average of $291.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

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.