Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 2,262 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,264 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 9,022 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,427,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 13,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,582,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.43. The stock has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.95.

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.