Invesco Ltd. Sells 360,341 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Invesco Ltd. reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,625,900 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 360,341 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.66% of American Express worth $1,372,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,151,080,000 after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $233.50 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $288.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28.

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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research raised their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.24.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% 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.