Seizert Capital Partners LLC Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 34,883 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,588 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $9,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $286.87. 2,614,568 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,934,763. American Express has a 1 year low of $157.97 and a 1 year high of $296.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average of $251.20. The stock has a market cap of $202.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. 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 results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express's dividend 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.