Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 21,100 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 488,288 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 21,100 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of American Express worth $144,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $2.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.79. 1,939,224 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,846,523. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $267.65 and a 200 day moving average of $287.11. 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 $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm's 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 owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.