American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Trimmed by Pavion Blue Capital LLC

Pavion Blue Capital LLC lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,189 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 3.8% of Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $267.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $192.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. 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 12 month low of $141.02 and a 12 month high of $286.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.88 and a 200-day moving average of $245.39.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given 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 is presently 23.06%.

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.