Maj Invest Holding A S Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Maj Invest Holding A S decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 466,822 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 351,382 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 4.6% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Maj Invest Holding A S owned 0.07% of American Express worth $138,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $320.87 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.92. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $186.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.00.

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.