First National Trust Co Sells 3,439 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

First National Trust Co cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,058 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,439 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 180,564 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $26,938,000 after buying an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in American Express by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 11,289 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.9% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 588,594 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $87,812,000 after purchasing an additional 16,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 19.4% during the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,785 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE AXP traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $224.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.30. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.