Wellington Management Group LLP Has $4.85 Billion Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 0.9% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,849,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $305.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.05.

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.