Linscomb Wealth Inc. Sells 471 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,039 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 471 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.9% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,878 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 5.4% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,876,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.7% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 20,444 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,544,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.2% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,595 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $286.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $202.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 1-year low of $157.97 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.09.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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.