American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Douglas Lane & Associates LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 10.9%, owning approximately 424,572 shares valued at $135,430,000 after selling 51,809 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• American Express reported $4.08 EPS for the latest quarter, beating expectations, with a revenue of $17.86 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 424,572 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 51,809 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 2.0% of Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.06% of American Express worth $135,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.2%

AXP opened at $325.48 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $313.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.91. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $332.46.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express 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 value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.45.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.