Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 676,805 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,869,281 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 676,805 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.12% of American Express worth $2,117,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings 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 worth $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in American Express by 186.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 346.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.68.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $1.75 during trading on Thursday, reaching $313.65. 1,020,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,837,010. The company's 50-day moving average is $303.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.92. The company has a market cap of $219.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.25. 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 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.