American Express (NYSE:AXP) Insider Sells $21,049,740.62 in Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $269.98. 3,489,540 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,932,770. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.16 and a 200-day moving average of $244.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $141.02 and a 12 month high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 25,531 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,739 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,455,000 after buying an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $300,000. Finally, Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 2,909 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% 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.