iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP – Free Report) by 12.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,477 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,431 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of American Express by 924.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of American Express by 71.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after purchasing an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.
American Express Trading Up 1.2 %
NYSE:AXP traded up $3.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $303.99. 1,797,667 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,281,003. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a one year low of $167.57 and a one year high of $307.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.74.
American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.39 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.
American Express 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.