American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Earnings Beat

American Express (NYSE:AXP) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 1,546,015 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session's volume of 2,420,010 shares.The stock last traded at $317.02 and had previously closed at $325.87.

The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $281.00.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $302.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

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.