Boston Common Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,418 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,368 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $10,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 5,536 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,643,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,083,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,477,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, hitting $312.75. 2,180,554 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,022,091. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $299.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.73. The company has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $315.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $278.09.

About American Express

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.