American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 995 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

AXP stock opened at $305.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $215.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $163.32 and a 1-year high of $306.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $277.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % 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 this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.