First Western Trust Bank Sells 114 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

First Western Trust Bank reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $286.87 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $202.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $157.97 and a 52-week high of $296.83.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express 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.