Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Sells 122 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,585 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % 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. In related news, 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $287.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,814,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,479. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.32. American Express has a 52 week low of $152.05 and a 52 week high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

American Express 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.