American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Lowered by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,612 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in American Express by 42.2% in the second 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 during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $272.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $266.02 and its 200 day moving average is $247.45. American Express has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $286.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $192.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $16.64 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 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.