American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,757 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $286.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.20. 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 has a 1 year low of $157.97 and a 1 year high of $296.83. The company has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

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 company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

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.