American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Reduced by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,004 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,932 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auxier Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s 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 $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 three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $7.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $295.42. 753,405 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,905,828. The company has a market cap of $208.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $177.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.64.

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.