American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,118 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,517 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $52,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in American Express by 105.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in American Express by 5.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 114,408 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $31,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,122 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in American Express by 12.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 933 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 5.9% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 29.5% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,578 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,496,000 after acquiring an additional 3,772 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AXP opened at $315.97 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $203.42 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $305.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.