Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,753 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $6.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $270.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,927,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,929,327. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $261.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.02. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $286.36. The company has a market cap of $194.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.58.

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.