MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $41.21 Million Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC sold 3,475 shares of American Express Company, reducing its stake by 2.2% in the first quarter, with holdings valued at approximately $41.21 million.
• American Express recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, resulting in an annualized payout of $3.28 and a dividend yield of 1.0%.
• American Express reported earnings per share of $4.08 for its last quarter, surpassing estimates, and its revenue increased by 9.3% year-over-year to $17.86 billion.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,184 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,475 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $41,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $4.81 on Tuesday, reaching $320.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,848,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,326. The company has a market capitalization of $223.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $309.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.89.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents 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, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

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.