American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 817,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 23,624 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.12% of American Express worth $242,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 6,776 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 148,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $40,363,000 after purchasing an additional 4,070 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of American Express by 13.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 534,851 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $145,052,000 after purchasing an additional 63,662 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in American Express by 493.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,382 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 6,139 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $295.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.