Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 113 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $293.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $206.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $269.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.86. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $153.50 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

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.