American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 629 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 591 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $170,000 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. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $274.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a one year low of $143.07 and a one year high of $286.36. The company has a market capitalization of $193.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $265.14 and a 200 day moving average of $246.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.