Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 508,792 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,360,489 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 508,792 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,347,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its position in American Express by 3.1% in the second quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $263,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 5,454 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of American Express by 106.9% in the second quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 22,112 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,053,000 after acquiring an additional 11,424 shares during the period. Finally, WP Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.8% during the second quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 16,868 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $356.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.55. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $377.23. The company has a market capitalization of $245.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $17.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $332.65.

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.