Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,117 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 134,333 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $11,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 636.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $65,988,000 after buying an additional 382,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $1.50 on Friday, reaching $235.60. 2,993,227 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,195,554. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $169.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $222.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.85. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Company 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.