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

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 63.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,911 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 28,896 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $242.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $228.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.56. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $243.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

American Express 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.