First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 73 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,629 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in American Express by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in American Express by 15.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $276.79 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $261.27 and its 200 day moving average is $243.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.