American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Lessened by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,217 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after acquiring an additional 768,301 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after acquiring an additional 681,304 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in American Express by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after acquiring an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $96,943,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $305.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $163.32 and a one year high of $305.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

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.