Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,493 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 26,205 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 0.9% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in American Express were worth $41,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $304.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $214.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $279.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $163.61 and a 1-year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.