Focused Investors LLC Sells 8,400 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Focused Investors LLC lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 450,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,400 shares during the period. American Express comprises 3.7% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $122,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Barclays raised their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $286.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $272.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.20. American Express has a 1-year low of $157.97 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.