Commerce Bank Cuts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 128,700 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,901 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $34,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $1.14 on Wednesday, reaching $286.69. 1,075,110 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,893,373. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50-day moving average is $273.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.10. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $161.73 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.