American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,361 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,153 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after acquiring an additional 387,166 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of American Express by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $408,494,000 after buying an additional 224,079 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $277.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $199.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $281.42.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $242.33.

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.