Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 4,721 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,165 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,721 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $95,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 26,783.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after acquiring an additional 906,353 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in American Express by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after buying an additional 300,138 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $307.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $216.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 12 month low of $208.82 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.42.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.