American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Realta Investment Advisors

Realta Investment Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 87.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,606 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 24,219 shares during the quarter. Realta Investment Advisors' holdings in American Express were worth $997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 119.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $63,550,000 after buying an additional 91,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $272.69. 2,508,471 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,916,070. American Express has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $286.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.02 and a 200-day moving average of $247.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express 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 directly owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.