Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,494,312 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 866,177 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.94% of American Express worth $2,157,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 210.7% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total transaction of $894,359.15. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at $894,359.15. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $365.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $387.49. The company has a market cap of $251.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $368.55 and its 200-day moving average is $341.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price objective on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $385.00 target price on American Express in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $352.82.

American Express Company Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.