American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in American Express (AXP) by 13.9%, owning 371,453 shares worth approximately $118.5 million after selling 60,077 shares.
• Institutional investors currently hold 84.33% of American Express's stock, with notable changes from firms like Nuveen LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increasing their stakes significantly during the first quarter.
• American Express recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a participating ex-dividend date of October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,453 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 60,077 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of American Express worth $118,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $126,119,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $323.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $323.60 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $349.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $324.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.29.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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