Central Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,006 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after purchasing an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after purchasing an additional 496,153 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $230.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,064,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,466,317. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The firm has a market cap of $165.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.95.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 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.