American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 91.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,760 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 61,002 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fullcircle Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the third quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 4,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Vigilare Wealth Management acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $365,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 50,000.0% in the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 501 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

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

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $272.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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 has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $286.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $266.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.45.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

American Express Company 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.