Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 6,952 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 419,373 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,952 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of American Express worth $113,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $304.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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 12-month low of $165.93 and a 12-month high of $307.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.39 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. Shareholders 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 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

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.