State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 160 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 68,361 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in American Express were worth $18,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 49.0% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, 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 value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $267.35 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $141.02 and a 1 year high of $286.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $263.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $192.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.