Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 9,187 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 660,354 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 9,187 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of American Express worth $195,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.24.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $301.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.97. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.