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

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,546,086 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 647,315 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,536,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $270.31 on Wednesday. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $189.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.86.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

About American Express

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.