American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,249 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,040 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its holdings in American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $228.21. 814,616 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,032,585. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.63. The company has a market capitalization of $164.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.