American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 619,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 41,233 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of American Express worth $166,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 17,405 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,683,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors increased its stake in American Express by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 12,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in American Express by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,616 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 76,147 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $20,487,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in American Express by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after buying an additional 5,188 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $308.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $214.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $305.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.44.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

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.