Jennison Associates LLC Sells 134,333 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 69.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,552 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $604,000. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 125,413 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $18,710,000 after buying an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 342,063 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $51,032,000 after buying an additional 3,190 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction 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 $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $237.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $222.11 and its 200 day moving average is $190.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.