Martingale Asset Management L P Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 151,493 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 26,205 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 0.9% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in American Express were worth $41,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 0.4 %

AXP opened at $304.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $279.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. 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 one year low of $163.61 and a one year high of $307.82.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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 $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % 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.