New England Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,540 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• New England Asset Management Inc. has reduced its stake in American Express by 29.8%, selling 3,540 shares and holding 8,340 shares worth $2.24 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in American Express, with MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increasing its holdings by 7.2% to own 92,844 shares valued at approximately $24.98 million.
• Brokerages have mixed ratings on American Express, with upgrades in price targets from Barclays and JPMorgan Chase alongside a downgrade from DZ Bank, indicating diverse analyst opinions on the stock.

New England Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 29.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,340 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,540 shares during the quarter. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $2,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.45.

American Express Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of American Express stock traded up $5.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $329.26. 937,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,877,023. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $332.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $313.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last three months. Company 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.