Taurus Asset Management LLC Has $3.93 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Taurus Asset Management LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,498 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 11,300 shares during the quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $285.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 853,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,897,755. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $272.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.34. American Express has a 52 week low of $161.73 and a 52 week high of $296.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $200.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.