Berkshire Bank Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Berkshire Bank trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,404 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $316.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $199.07 and a 52 week high of $326.27. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.32.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.