American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Position Lowered by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in American Express by 8.6% during the first quarter, now holding 77,699 shares worth approximately $20.9 million.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 9.3% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Prudential PLC lowered its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,699 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,302 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in American Express were worth $20,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,454,667,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in American Express by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.8%

AXP stock traded down $2.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $305.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,726,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,945,069. The company's 50-day moving average price is $307.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.