American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 610 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in American Express were worth $181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Auxier Asset Management grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $300.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $177.81 and a 1-year 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. 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 firm also recently announced 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 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 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.