American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its stake in American Express Company by 28.4%, owning 20,334 shares valued at $5,471,000 after selling 8,081 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have shown interest in American Express, with multiple funds purchasing new stakes valued between $29,000 and $40,000 in the first quarter.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, representing an annualized dividend of $3.28 and a yield of 1.1%.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,334 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 8,081 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in American Express were worth $5,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% 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 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $305.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $307.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.97. 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. 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.

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.