Huntington National Bank Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Huntington National Bank cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,118 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,534 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $36,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,917 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $7,842,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of American Express by 4.6% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,437 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $6,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,035 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,321 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $289.10. The stock had a trading volume of 961,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,899,159. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $270.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.49. American Express has a twelve month low of $157.00 and a twelve month high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.