American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 155,374 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,164 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in American Express were worth $41,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 119.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in American Express by 102.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its position in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,550,000 after acquiring an additional 91,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Up 1.6 %

AXP stock opened at $271.60 on Tuesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $141.73 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.14. The stock has a market cap of $195.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid 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 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.