American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 0.07% of American Express worth $144,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $292,081,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 538.7% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $102,003,000 after acquiring an additional 300,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $264.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,939,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,846,523. The business's fifty day moving average is $267.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.11. The stock has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.