Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 913 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $286.80 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $157.97 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $271.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.