Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,193,401 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 365,250 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,493,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 9.4% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 2,247 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,175,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 126.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 119,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $32,544,000 after purchasing an additional 67,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 13.4% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 588,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $159,668,000 after purchasing an additional 69,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. 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 research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $287.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $202.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $161.73 and a 52-week high of $296.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.35.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.