Everett Harris & Co. CA Sells 50 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Everett Harris & Co. CA reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,138 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of American Express by 924.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in American Express by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $269,547,000 after buying an additional 486,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $242.33.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $276.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $261.27 and a 200 day moving average of $243.90. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $286.36. The company has a market cap of $199.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.