Cambridge Trust Co. Sells 1,047 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cambridge Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 168,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.3% of Cambridge Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,847,452,000 after buying an additional 35,760 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $911,554,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,802,341 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $857,293,000 after buying an additional 405,975 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

American Express Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.92 on Thursday, hitting $218.59. 2,078,853 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,050,441. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.58. The company has a market capitalization of $158.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is 24.98%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.