Webster Bank N. A. Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,956 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 825 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.'s holdings in American Express were worth $3,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.05.

American Express Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $7.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $313.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,831,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,704,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52-week low of $199.07 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $220.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. 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.