American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 412 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auxier Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

AXP traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $302.71. 620,342 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,793,162. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $177.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.82. The company has a market cap of $213.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.64.

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.