American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Trimmed by Stokes Family Office LLC

Stokes Family Office LLC trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,767 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 510 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in American Express by 35.4% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 222.5% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 163,709 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $24,424,000 after buying an additional 112,952 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,905 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,970,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $485,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,600,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $238.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,612,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,999,556. The firm has a market cap of $171.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $234.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.28. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.50.

About American Express

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.