Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 7,396 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,418 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 7,396 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research lowered 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. Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $287.65 on Thursday. American Express has a 12-month low of $161.73 and a 12-month high of $296.83. The stock has a market cap of $202.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $274.48 and its 200-day moving average is $252.35.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.