American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by New England Asset Management Inc.

New England Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,410 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 823.5% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 628 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $459,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 39,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 8,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 51.5% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,881 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $285.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $273.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $201.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $161.73 and a 12 month high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.