New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 101,312 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 696,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 101,312 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $188,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $2.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $272.71. 174,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,905,062. American Express has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $286.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $265.59 and its 200-day moving average is $246.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $192.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

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.