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

Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,625,900 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 360,341 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.66% of American Express worth $1,372,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought 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 owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $4.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $251.46. 4,412,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,881,151. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 12 month low of $216.12 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $279.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.