Raymond James Trust N.A. Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Raymond James Trust N.A. cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,346 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $175,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in American Express by 10.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,207 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,481,000 after buying an additional 5,764 shares during the period. Ceeto Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 12,800 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 39.8% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 16,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,673,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $301.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $163.32 and a 1-year high of $301.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

About American Express

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.