American Express Company $AXP Shares Purchased by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,476 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 9,596 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,370,489,000 after purchasing an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $321.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $331.93 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The company has a market cap of $230.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $320.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.06.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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 Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.