Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Has $2.57 Million Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. decreased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 21.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,176 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after purchasing an additional 78,538 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after purchasing an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.1%

AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $320.01 and a 200-day moving average of $298.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.95.

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.