Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Has $3.62 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,194 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,658 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’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 value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express 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 owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.95.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.30 on Monday, hitting $301.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,609,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,996,208. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $212.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $293.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.17. American Express has a 1 year low of $177.81 and a 1 year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

About American Express

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.