Clean Yield Group Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clean Yield Group lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,095 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Clean Yield Group’s holdings in American Express were worth $919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in American Express by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,402 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,334 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,456 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 109,865 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $32,607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.2 %

AXP stock traded up $3.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $296.72. 1,005,717 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,050,316. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $209.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $177.81 and a 1 year high of $307.82.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Barclays upped 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 note on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $277.82.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.