Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,757 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express 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. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

AXP opened at $286.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $157.97 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 $272.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. 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.