Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,526 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,892 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $8,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on American Express
American Express Stock Performance
AXP traded down $1.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $294.04. 5,251,732 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,856,123. The firm has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $270.91 and its 200 day moving average is $288.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
About American Express
(
Free Report)
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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