American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 456,391 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,202 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $123,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 26,783.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,923,399,000 after buying an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 71.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $269,547,000 after buying an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

AXP traded down $1.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $286.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,614,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,934,763. The company has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.34. American Express has a twelve month low of $157.97 and a twelve month high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

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.