Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,585 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 26,783.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in American Express by 924.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after acquiring an additional 768,301 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,990,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.60. 1,814,377 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,830,479. American Express has a 12 month low of $152.05 and a 12 month high of $296.83. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $268.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

About American Express

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.