American Express (NYSE:AXP) Insider Anre D. Williams Sells 77,887 Shares

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

American Express Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $267.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $263.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.09. The company has a market cap of $192.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $141.02 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. 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 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd 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. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management bought a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.