Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,883,929 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 120,400 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.27% of American Express worth $559,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,099,391,000 after buying an additional 74,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

AXP traded down $2.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $264.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,939,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,846,522. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.14. The company has a market capitalization of $185.51 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 given a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.