Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID Sells 100 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,900 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID’s holdings in American Express were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.38. The stock had a trading volume of 5,064,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,466,317. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.95. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned 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 price target of $220.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.