American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 58.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 44,698 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in American Express were worth $7,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $247.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $240.23. 3,828,262 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,022,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $253.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $236.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.15. The firm has a market cap of $170.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.