American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 26.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,095 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 31,202 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in American Express were worth $28,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,897,335,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 31,595.9% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $555,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,513 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 11.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,282,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,746 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,125,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $988,676,000 after purchasing an additional 646,039 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. increased its position in American Express by 136.6% during the second quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $353,740,000 after purchasing an additional 640,214 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $342.40.

American Express Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:AXP opened at $378.15 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $387.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. Equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total transaction of $894,359.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,359.15. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.