American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,639 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,135 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $59,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $267.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,993,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,933,059. American Express has a twelve month low of $141.02 and a twelve month high of $286.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $192.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.