American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 242,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 54,305 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $80,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in American Express by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,267,377 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $721,525,000 after acquiring an additional 49,593 shares in the last quarter. Dempze Nancy E grew its position in American Express by 210.2% during the second quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 3,459 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 26,189 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,354,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. SLT Holdings LLC lifted its position in American Express by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 82,883 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $26,438,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. DZ Bank raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.55.

American Express Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $381.02 on Monday. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $387.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $365.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $334.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%. Equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.