American Express (NYSE:AXP) Vice Chairman Sells $3,552,818.78 in Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $3.10 on Thursday, hitting $270.98. 1,118,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,912,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $265.14 and its 200 day moving average is $246.71. American Express has a 52 week low of $143.07 and a 52 week high of $286.36. The company has a market capitalization of $190.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Barclays boosted 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 note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $815,000. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 105.7% in the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 3,914 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 501,226 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $135,832,000 after acquiring an additional 10,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $222,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.