American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,502,519 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 767,251 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.45% of American Express worth $1,967,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $552,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,666 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,577 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in American Express by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $326,165,000 after acquiring an additional 328,931 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 64,622 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 316,691 shares of company stock worth $70,856,898. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $3.16 on Friday, hitting $242.30. 2,590,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,589,212. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $243.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.52 and a 200 day moving average of $197.76.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

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.

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