American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 252,169 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,899 shares during the quarter. Equity Investment Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $68,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $1.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $285.54. 2,074,429 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,903,232. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $161.73 and a 52 week high of $296.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $273.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.72. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express 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.