Jennison Associates LLC Sells 119,378 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 86.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,418 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 119,378 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $301.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $212.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $163.32 and a 12-month high of $301.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.